Silent and Altruistic
by Yitani East
Summary: Centered around the Ocarina of Time and Majora's Mask. Link's friends and "family" talk candidly about their silent friend and hero. Chapter Ten: Link finally speaks his mind.
1. The Day Before Link Was Summoned

_So...hi. For those of you who are expecting something for Criminal Minds, I apoligize I'm working on revamping the story, and it'll be better and Ethan will most likely have a different name. Anyway, to the fanfic. I. LOVE. ZELDA. Unfortunately, I do not own this lovely lovely franchise of wonderful games. _

_This fanfiction was inspired by a very good friend I met while I was in the hospital, it's kind of a wedding gift to him I suppose. This story is not really canon but it sticks to the story line of Ocarina of Time pretty closely though I've made some changes:_

_-Speculation on why Link never talks_

_-Sheik is not Zelda and meets Link much ealier_

_-Dark Link is not just a mirror reflection of Link or a shadow really...more on that later..._

_Those are just some of the changes. I hope you all love this as much and I do. _

The Day before Link was Summoned by the Deku Tree

The game went like this: You can't use your hands to move the ball, making a goal was two points and there could only be four people to a team. The game would be so much simpler had it not been for the fourth rule: Mido can change and the rules whenever he wanted. Of course that rule wasn't officially stated in the Know-It-All Brother's rulebook but no one tried to argue with Boss Mido anymore so when he changed the rules to benefit him, there were only a few muttered protests.

Boss Mido always won. By the Know-It-All Brother's records, the only person who'd ever beaten him, even with the twisted and unfair rule changing, was Link. Mido pulled out every stop he could on Link. He even declared that you can't win if you don't have a fairy. But not even the triplets, Mido's little worshipers, were buying that one. Link beat him by eight points. Due to his short stature, Link was able to get around Mido's rather brutish handling of the ball with the kind of stealth that the Kokiri Children had only heard when the fairies told them of the Sheikah. It was the only time that the other forest children, besides Saria ever seemed happy to see Link. They even cheered.

But the very next day, they all hated him again.

In spite of the fact that Mido was nothing but a mere bully, most of the Kokiri listened to him and never antagonized him. If anything, they respected him at the very least. On the side of that same rupee, Mido didn't really treat any of the Kokiri that badly, save for Link of course.

Without a fairy, Link was an outcast, ostracized by all of the immortal children of the Forest. All but Saria. Saria was not only Link's best friend but she was the one who kept him in check. Since Link wouldn't speak for himself, he tended to get his feelings across through other means. He'd shoved one of the Know-It-All Brothers last week for saying something particularly nasty but violence was just not the Kokiri way. To even think about it made Link even more of an outcast. Saria would never say it out loud, but as she watched her silent friend punch a nearby wall in a fit of frustration at Mido's constant teasing, she feared one day he'd actually hurt someone.

It wasn't like Link was a menacing person, in fact he was very affectionate. He loved hugs and always gave Saria one before leaving her house. Whenever some spoke kindly to him, he listened intently and never interrupted. He loved to read. If he wasn't in Saria's house, he was most likely at the Know-It-All Brothers' library. Whether he'd actually been let in could be left up to the imagination. Link was the King of Random Knowledge. With all the books and learning how to play the ocarina, Link absorbed everything he learned. What Saria loved the most was Link's love for all living things, save the ones who made fun of him. He could be angry and lash out with his temper, but Link was never directly angry at anyone who hadn't wronged him first. Still, there was that nagging fear that Link would snap.

Fortunately, when that day came, it wasn't as bad as her over active imagination had predicted.

Mido had made up another rule in the game. Since he was playing one against three against one with the Know-It-All Brothers, any goal the boy triplets made was only worth one point. So it was no surprise that Mido had won yet again. Saria was watching just like everyone else painting a newly made Ocarina. She decided that Link should have an ocarina of his own. He hadn't had his own for about a year since Mido and the others kept breaking them claiming that he "couldn't play if he didn't hold it right." It wasn't like Link could help it, he was left handed.

"...just scored against all three of them!" Saria was unaware the Mido had been talking to her.

"Huh?" She asked rather clumsily. The other tittered a little at the flustered expression Mido had on his face.

"Did you see that?" Mido blustered. "I just won the game against the Know-It-Alls!" He might as well have been whining.

"Oh that's...great." She said plastering a smile on her face. She wasn't surprised or proud of him like everyone else. Like Link, Saria was...different. But for Mido, that made Saria interesting not stupid like Link. Really things would have been so different if Link had just had a fairy. The irony of it all would sometime hit Saria in the middle of the night or while she was cleaning or something equally important. She stole a glance at Link as Mido continued to gloat and flex. He was over at his house using one of his stone little knives to carve something. From where she was sitting, it looked like another sign just in case Mido carved "No-Fairy" above "Link's House". She completely forgot about Mido and stood up in the middle of his rant.

If there was one thing Saria hated more than anything in the world, it was the sight of loneliness and she saw Link alone and left out everyday.

Saria was only partially aware of Mido whining after her when she strode over to Link who upon further examination, was carving something in the base of his house. A stick figure fighting...a dragon? Dragons never came to this side of Hyrule. The Kokiri knew of the outside, but had no desire to leave the forest. Ever. Any Kokiri who left, never returned. But Link claimed he'd seen places outside of the forest, that he'd seen the Princess and a horse. Saria knew what horses were but had never seen one. She'd never even seen a picture of the Princess, but she'd heard of her, the fairies were wise and knowledgeable. Whatever they didn't have in books, the fairies told them. Not to mention the Kokiri were infamous for stealing any cargo any unsuspecting travelers turned Stalchildren may have had.

"Link?" She asked tentatively. His carving was never so sloppy.

"Hm?" Link wasn't much for speaking. Saria knew that must be because of Mido too. Talking was the second largest vulnerable spot Link had besides his total lack of fairy so he'd just stopped talking altogether.

"Are you okay?" When she asked that, he turned to her with a sigh. He was rather pale and his dark circles hung around his eyes like sleeping bats. "You haven't been sleeping at all have you?" She had a feeling he wasn't and those suspicions were confirmed when he nodded sheepishly. "Maybe we should tell the Great Deku Tree that..." she sighed an thought better of what she was about to say. "...nevermind...maybe we should ask Calla to fix you some chamomile tonight. It might help." Link opened his mouth about to protest yet another tea related remedy until the ball from Mido's game suddenly collided with his face. Link reeled and hit his head on the back of the root of his house. Saria fussed over him as he nursed his now bruised right eye. As Mido marched over, however, Link's entire countenance changed. He even growled.

"You shouldn't keep Saria having fun with all the normal ones, No-Fairy." He declared. There was a general consensus among the group that had followed Mido. Saria huffed in irritation before she stood to her feet. Mido would never admit that she was taller than him.

"Leave him alone. He wasn't bothering me. He wasn't borrowing anyone." Saria said nodding firmly. Link just kept holding his eye and said nothing.

"Yes he was, his head got in the way of our ball!" The others laughed. They thought it was a joke. Saria didn't think he was funny.

"You stop it Mido." She said waggling a finger.

"I didn't do anything, it's his fault." Mido said making a toad-like face at Link. Link made one back. "What, No-Fairy? Do you want a rematch?" He said grabbing the ball and holding it. "You and me, let's go!" Link took the high road. Instead of taking him up on his challenge, Link stood to his feet, dusted himself off and went towards his ladder. "Aww...you scared you might lose this time?" Link didn't stop but Saria intervened on his behalf.

"Mido, The Great Deku Tree doesn't approve of this behavior." She said firmly. It was no secret the Great Father of the Forest didn't like to see Link constantly beat down but for Mido it was too fun and all too easy.

"You just know he'll lose." He retorted crossing his arms.

"Mido, just stop it already! You're so impossible!" Saria insisted almost yelling at him.

"I'll stop when No-Fairy _tells_ me to stop!" Link stopped in mid-climb on his ladder. After a brief moment, he hopped down as the other Kokiri who had gathered muttered "ooh" quietly under their breaths. He advanced on Mido dangerously. He really wasn't all that intimidating being shorter than Mido. "That's right. I want you to tell me to stop and I'll leave you alone for the whole day. I swear." The sneer made Saria doubt that he planned to do anything of the sort.

Slowly, Link bent his head. The Kokiri leaned forward. Saria even heard someone say "he's really gonna do it". Even Mido anticipated it. Link opened his mouth as if trying to think of what to say. Maybe if Saria hadn't been so caught up in waiting for Link to say something, she would've seen his hands balling up into fists on both sides of his body. Maybe if she had noticed, she might have been able to stop him from punching Mido in the face. It happened so quickly. Saria heard the "crack" before she even knew what had happened. One of the triplets screamed. Mido was knocked on flat on his back hand clamped over his bleeding and broken nose. Saria could only intervene after the fact.

"Link, no! That's not how we settle things here!" She cried hoilding him back from doing anymore damage as Mido barely manged to get to his feet before stomping over to his house.

"I'll get you for this No-Fairy! By the Three, I'll get you for this!" Mido's little triplet groupies helped him into his house so they could tend to his bloody nose. The rest of the Kokiri stood in stunned silence. Many of them had never even seen blood before. Saria only saw it once and that's because she cut herself on broken pottery. They looked back at Link frightened. The Fairy-less boy only turned on his heel and went into his house without a word, indication or sign that he regretted what he did.

That was the worst Link's temper ever got.

_So my friends, how do you like it? Tell me in a review, they're the best way to keep me writing. Next chapter: Impa finds out why Link doesn't speak. Love you all thanks for reading. _


	2. Training Link for Death Mountain

_So Second chapter...I'd like you guys to please review this time. Please? Pretty please? Don't leave me in suspense. Before I start this chapter I have a few things to say:_

_The reason I chose this particular speech impediment is because of the person I dedicated this fanfiction to. We both stutter but it's difficult to put on paper even with the experience so I'm trying my best. I figured that Link would need a reason not to speak as he's decidedly silent for the entire game and since he makes battle noises I assumed a speech impediment would keep our valiant hero from speaking. So if anyone wishes to preach about speech impediments, kindly keep it to yourself._

_Anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter, because I thoroughly enjoyed writing it. _

Training Link for Death Mountain

As told by Impa

Link came to the castle in early spring. He left the third week of autumn. He wanted to leave right away after he finished talking to Zelda. Seriously, that boy wanted to go to Death Mountain of all places without an ounce of real training. Sure he had a natural affinity for swordplay but blindly swinging your blade into enemies is simply unacceptable. If he'd gone to Death Mountain, he wouldn't have lasted a moment with all those Tektites. He was a naive thing, but Nayru love him, he was so sweet.

Link was definitely a hero. Not in the sense that he was noble, pure hearted and a little naïve but he was humble, and even though he was young he went out of his way to make anyone feel wanted. His silence, though, surprised me. A kid as social as him barely spoke a word. Link was dependent on his fairy for communication. To be honest, I took a liking to the fairy as well.

Navi was...an interesting creature. Her passion for the task she was given far exceeded her tiny body. She was feisty and highly intelligent. She had the unique ability to help Link aim and detect enemies. Whenever I instructed Link on something important, Navi would float over my head glowing bright blue. With her around, Link didn't even have to open his mouth. It seemed she knew everything he was going to say. All they would do is look at each other and Navi spoke for him.

"Link would like to know if there's a library." As much as I liked her, her voice was a little shrill and difficult to bear at times. Ironically enough, she claimed her voice was actually rather deep for a fairy.

I can only imagine what he felt during his first time visiting the Castle's library. Judging by his face, I'd say it completely astounded him. That's where he met my nephew, Sheik. He'd come into my care, just like Zelda when his mother, my dear sister Ilka passed away suddenly. Sheik and Link instantly developed a silent understanding of each others' space, interests and skills. Their friendship was very different from Link and Zelda's.

Zelda was still very young at the time and very troubled. Her mother quietly abdicated the throne after a humiliating scandal with the Captain of the Guard. It was a shame she left really, The King and the kingdom was ready to forgive her transgressions. Because Zelda and Link look so much alike, I could almost say maybe Link was the child the Queen and the captain had borne together. Rumor has it, she rode into the forest never to be seen again and Link is two years younger than Zelda. Of course there is no way to prove it, save for Link's gift for swordplay and his resemblance to the princess.

Link and Zelda could often be found in the garden with Zelda talking or telling stories and Link simply listening. He hung on her every word really. Zelda has always been amazingly articulate and that was one of Link favorite things about her. Sheik's too, ironically. She always spoke her mind which according to that loathsome etiquette teacher was not always appropriate for a "lady".

Link taught Zelda the Ocarina. That's something the legend leaves out. Zelda had always treasured the Ocarina of Time but she'd never been able to play it. Link wasn't quite the musician just yet, but thanks to his best friend, and later my fellow Sage Saria he was good enough to at least teach the proper fingering to someone else. Nevertheless, Sheik was our virtuoso.

Sheik played the harp as well as he wielded whips and projectile blades. He'd been training in the Sheikah ways since he could stand. Of course a Sheikah is taught to be cold, calculating and deadly but only in battle. Sadly, the death of his mother turned Sheik into a deathly serious child. He didn't come back to life until he, Zelda and Link began to play together. With Zelda, he'd get fed up with her constant talking and just get up and walk away. The two argued often argued about trivial things though they were generally good friends. However, with Link, the three of them seemed inseparable. In between meals, training sessions and unsupervised trips to the market and Lon Lon Ranch (children have a maddening habit of sneaking out without permission), I'd watch them play tag or hide and seek. Link, using Navi as a medium of communication, taught them a ball game the Kokiri played. There were four rules: you can't use your hands to move the ball, making a goal was two points , there could only be up to four people to a team, and in no way could any rules be altered or added at any time. Navi was extremely clear about that last one.

I have to admit watching the three play and become such good friends did my heart good. However, Link's silence still bothered me. In fact, I started to get worried. I'd heard him laugh before I knew he wasn't a mute. Even Sheik after the death of his mother opened up but it seemed Link couldn't trust us with the sound of his actual voice.

Which is why I found myself in the garden the night after the Summer Solstice.

Link only spoke with Navi, this I could surmise. But what confounded me is why would he only speak to her? Did she understand something that we didn't? It was to my understanding that Link liked to watch the stars on the clearest night, after the torches were put out. He'd play his ocarina until I or one of the guards shooed him off to bed. Tonight, I just watched him. He was in spirited conversation for the first time in a month with the fairy hovering over him. I could understand everything the fairy said but Link was more difficult to understand and it wasn't because of the volume of his voice. It sounded like his words were jumbled and running together like a bad painting. I listened harder.

"D-d-do you th-th-think-k-k w-w-we should-d-d g-go see Saria aft-t-ter tr-training, Navi?" Link asked the fairy staring up at the sky from the crate he was lying on. "She'd-d-d love t-t-t-to hear ab-b-bout the ca-a-astle. I really m-m-miss her." He sounded a little homesick.

"I do too, Link." Navi said perching on his head. A motherly pain tugged at my heartstrings. This boy was supposedly destined to do all these great things. He was so talented with swordplay, intelligent, good with music...but simply speaking was a struggle. He had to force the words out one by one. He told me seven years later that it was like using a rope to pull words out of his throat and the words were two ton bags full of sand. I decided to leave him be for the moment since he was in mid-nostalgia for the forest. I planned on leaving but I am not used to fairy senses, even if I'm trained in stealth and silence. The minute I turned to the door, the persistent blue fairy was in my face.

"Enjoying the night air, Miss Impa?" She asked impassively. I couldn't really see her face in all of her light, but I am sure she was glaring at me.

"Yes, in fact, I am. It's a warm night." I said kindly. I wouldn't call attention to Link if I could I didn't want to embarrass him further. I didn't have to look at him to tell that he wanted nothing more than to crawl into a hole.

"Yes, good night for listening to the sounds of nature isn't it?" Her tone became abrasive, she might as well have been accusing me. In hindsight, she thought I would tease him for his speech impediment or rescind my training regiment. The Kokiri never grew up, children could be innocent but they could also be cruel. He never talked about it much but I'm certain he was teased relentlessly for it. I would never do anything of the sort. Navi apparently didn't get out of the forest much.

"N-N-Navi...st-t-t-t-t..." Embarrassment was only exacerbating his speech. "St-st-st-t-t..." There was that motherly pull again. Having coached a squire to overcome his lisp, I knew how to help him. I bent down to his level, Nayru love him he was so short, and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Shh..." I said gently. "Calm down." Upon further examination, he was on the verge of tears. He took a shaky breath and nodded. "Now you have nothing to be ashamed of. They made fun of you for it, didn't they?" Link nodded timidly. "Link, I don't think of you any differently because you stutter. It's hardly that big of a deal. In fact, I'm amazed you found it necessary to hide it for so long." Now he looked sheepish.

"S-some t-t-ti-i-imes I..." He hesitated for the first time since I met him. "It-t-t...ge...get's vvvvery hard-d-d t-to...to...t-t-to..." He was getting worked up again and Navi spoke.

"He wants to say that if all these things come naturally to him, why can't he speak?" Navi said solemnly. I moved my hand from his shoulder to his head.

"You can speak, Link." I said evenly. "I understand that they made fun of you, but not everyone in the world is like that. It's no fault of yours that the ignorant few in this world can't see past this. You don't have to hide because of what other people say." By the time I had finished saying this, he was already in tears, head bent and shaking. My heart cracked a little. Link liked to give hugs, while I chose to show my affection by words and a gentle hand on the shoulder but I'd say the boy was starting to rub off on me when I reached out and embraced him tightly. "One day, people are going to tell great stories about you." I told him. That's when he broke down.

That's when it occurred to me that Link didn't think he was capable of the task Zelda told him he was destined to do. He was just doing as he was told and hoping everything turned out alright. Most of us would call his selflessness noble and heroic, he just saw it as doing what he was told. I've always wondered if that was how he thought he'd be accepted. In that moment, I just wanted him to know what he was capable of greatness.

The remainder of his time spent in the castle went well after that. Not that I was surprised. There was no way no one could ever get rid of a stutter but I taught Link to at least get control of his words. I saw Link's motives change before my eyes. He wasn't just blindly doing what he was told. He was going on this quest for his friends. The day I found them asleep together in the library, I knew there were bonds that could not be broken. Link never forgot about Saria for a moment. He could not and would not be separated from his Fairy Ocarina. In fact, I'd told him he could go visit her before he went to Kakariko.

Link's departure was difficult. Zelda and Sheik knew he had to leave eventually but after having him train at the castle for so long, they'd all grown accustomed to him. Link came to accept the castle as his second home, he'd always love the forest. Zelda all but burst into tears when she saw Link packing his things but the minute she composed herself, she helped him pack.

"I know how much you like the pears." Zelda said with a smile. "I packed a few for you." She hugged him. "I know you have to go, after all I'm the one sending you but...I will miss you. And you need to be careful you always need to think before you act." She sniffled. "You can be so impulsive sometimes." She sighed trying not to let her tears get the best of her again. "All you have to do is bring back the Spiritual Stones. You're destined to save Hyrule, Link." Link simply smiled and hugged her back. Zelda handed him his trademark hat and looked to Navi. "I trust you'll keep a good eye on him, Miss Navi?" The glowing ball touched her face in what I perceived to be a platonic peck on the cheek and Zelda giggled.

"You can count on me, Zelda." It was the first time she'd called her anything but "your highness". With the Ocarina in hand she placed a hand on Link's shoulder.

"I'll practice everyday I promise." Sheik was sulking in the corner on his usual chair crossed legged.

"I don't see why I can't go." Sheik said. He wasn't really mad but more upset that he couldn't go with Link after becoming such good friends.

"You still have to train and protect the Princess. This is a job only Link can do." I admonished with a wag of my finger. Sheik didn't reply for a minute stubbornly wiping away a tear. He eventually hopped off the chair and left the room for a brief moment and he came back with a large Hylian Shield.

"The Deku shield will only burn in Death Mountain..." He mumbled. "You should...wear this...it'll keep you safe and all..." Sheik fidgeted awkwardly still somewhat unfamiliar with the concept of emotion. Link thanked Sheik and strapped the shield onto his back. It was a little large but with his short stature, he could hide under should anything go wrong like running into an Armos or being caught in a rock slide. Sheik punched Link in the shoulder. "Don't die or anything like that." He said. "And don't come back with missing limbs either." Link reassured both his friends that he would come back safely and when all this was over, they could come with him to see the forest and finally introduce them to Saria. This earned him a hesitant but heartfelt man-hug from Sheik.

With one hand on his shoulder, I led him out of the castle and out to Hyrule Field. As he gazed around the field briefly, I could see he was now determined to carry out this task. The concept of saving Hyrule was still a little beyond him, but he was doing this for three very dear friends so he could go back home where he, Saria, Zelda and Sheik could all live and be happy. That's really all Link wanted was for him and everyone he loved to be happy. He turned to me and smiled and said to me without stuttering once.

"Thank you, Miss Impa."

I don't know why Link found it necessary to be so silent, because he always knew just the right thing to say.

_In case you were wondering, no Link's stutter is not cured. You can't "cure" a stutter, you can only find ways to keep from exacerbating it. Anyway I'm getting preachy. I hope you liked this totally non-canon part of the story. We get to the much darker stuff very very soon._

_Deuces, _

_East_


	3. Seven Years to Hell

_So I realized that people may be wondering why I don't post in Link's point of view. The only response I have to that is I believe that you can find out more about a person by speaking to their friends and this fanfiction features all of Link's closest friends. In this chapter, I take some obvious creative liberties. I'm not asking you to like them but they are pretty damn obvious. _

Seven Year Hell

As told by Sheik

It took seven years for Hyrule to become hell. There was so much wrong with the world. Two years after our escape from the castle to Zora River, my aunt Impa handed complete care of the princess to me and left citing that she had to return to the castle. We posed as travelers and came to the Lake Researcher, Aldo, as castle town refugees. The man may have been odd and slightly senile, but Zelda could always evoke a person's better nature. The world fell down around around us.

To say Zelda just grew restless was a vast understatement. Often times, I would hear her crying at night staring at the towering smoke from the pillaging and raiding carried on outside of the trees of Lake Hylia.

One night, we heard a ear piercing howl from Old Aldo. As much as I hate to admit it, fear gripped my chest as I ran outside to assist him. Old and thin he may be, but Aldo can best me on the Bo staff any day so I meant to merely help. But once I was outside, there were no enemies...

...just eviscerated bodies.

The Gerudo slaves of Ganondorf had dumped the bodies of females, men...and children...into the canyon below the surface flowing straight to us. Here, Zelda and I were safe and that was the priority. Without Zelda, all of this would be for nothing. If she was killed, she would never awaken as the Seventh Sage and Ganondorf could easily take the Triforce of Wisdom. Yet, we were oblivious to the pure horror Hyrule Castle Town was being put through until that day.

It took us days to dispose of all those bodies. Zelda was ill for days. Unfortunately, I was too desensitized to absorb the shock of it all until we were burning the bodies. The inferno reeked of putrid skin and tainted water. I would to the three that I could hear them scream. I heard women beg for mercy, men scream in pain and children sobbing as they watched their parents, friends and neighbors get slaughtered. I stopped playing the requiem on my harp abruptly, right hand clamped over my mouth.

"Sheik?" I heard Zelda ask but she might as well have been in another world. As a Sheikah, I have dabbled in medium-ship. It's an art passed down by our ancestors. We built the graveyard of Kakariko so spirits could rest in peace and to protect a Red Fairy Fountain. But our race is tainted by the curse of our foolish ancestors. Necromancy haunted us and on my father's side, I am a direct descendant of the Cursed Keepers of the Shadow Temple. But I had no idea it would affect this much. I crumpled to the ground sobbing unable to get the horrible vision out of my head. All at once their voices rang in my head. They died in fear and pain. Women were raped, men were tortured and children were caught in the crossfire. I was only vaguely aware of Aldo holding my hair back and Zelda desperately trying to comfort me as I became violently ill. The rest is fuzzy.

"Sheik! Sheik! Wake up, boy!" I woke to Aldo's screeching voice the next morning. It was barely sunrise. Because of my episode last night, I was disoriented.

"What...what is it?" My lips felt like numb rubber.

"Your sister, dear boy!" He cried. "Ilka's gone!" Nayru love him, he never caught on that Zelda was actually the princess. I leapt out of bed and dressed quickly. I grabbed every projectile weapon I owned. Urgency and adrenaline fueled my body. Truthfully, I was still drained from what happened yesterday.

"Did she take the horse?" I asked hastily.

"Yes, the stallion is gone too." He said handing me the remainder of my things. "I'm sorry, dear boy, I should've known she'd run off...she was on about the refugees. She sounded so determined. The Black Cloud exudes from the castle, it's going to over take us all. The dead will walk tonight." Deep down, panic seized me. Zelda had already lost her mother and her father now her home...our home...was going to be destroyed. "It's only a matter of time before it consumes us all." Finished dressing I turned to him and found him staring up at the cloudy sky. "I knew it. The Goddesses have abandon us."

"No, Sir Aldo, they are simply waiting for the greatest opportunity. For now, none of us are strong enough to fight." I laid a hand on his shoulder before taking out my harp.

"I don't suppose I'll ever see you or your sister again, Sheik." He said. I began to play the Prelude of Light. Before the light consumed me, I replied,

"You may yet, Sir Aldo." I hated to leave the old man alone, but Zelda needed me I could feel it. The minute I placed my feet on the tile of the Temple of Time, I broke into a run. I didn't have to call for Zelda at this point, disguise or not, I could pick her out of any crowd. I was her bodyguard after all.

Aldo was right. A cloud of sulfurous darkness poured into the sky from the castle. By Din, that place looked so different. It used to be home, but now it was half burilt fortress and a monument to evil. Lightning coursed through the clouds. I was amazed at the amount of remaining townspeople. They rushed past me panicking and screaming. Moblins stormed the city. I will never forget the image of a woman's head being impaled on a spear then subsequently used to beat her child with it. Not so much to my surprise it was Zelda who rescued the poor thing and passed it off to another woman who was apparently helping her find children and getting them out of the city. I joined her.

"Are there any left?" I didn't tell her to go back, or to let me handle this because she would not do either of those things. But whatever endeavor she chose, I would protect her with my life. At this point, she was all I had.

"I'm not sure, we just need to get out as many as possible." She replied fighting the terrified villagers who were running the opposite way. The Happy Mask Shop burst into flames. The peals of guttural moblin laughter disgusted me. I heard a familiar scream from the back alleys. I ran and Zelda followed me to the lady who owned the Bombchu Game Parlour hiding in a corner clutching a little white dog. A moblin loomed over her, his intentions already extremely clear. My anger got ahead of me and I struck before I even thought about it. The beast's head hit the cobblestones and Zelda helped the girl to her feet. I provided protective detail as we helped the girl into the crowd of runners. Loathsome creatures of all kinds began to crawl from the path to the castle. Poes, the size of which I'd never seen before flew through the town square. Luckily, I used to use those things for target practice. They fell victim to my kunai. Their oil lanterns shattered. The oil splattered on my face, hands and clothes. At the time, I paid it no mind. The refugees were starting to thin out.

"I'll hold them off, Zelda. You see the others out." I said. In spite of Zelda's insisting, I wasn't being heroic or noble. I just wanted to give these innocents a fighting chance. She punched me in the shoulder much like I did for Link when he left us.

"Meet me at Kakariko. That is an order." She said before calling the remaining refugees to her and dashing for the gate. The moblins were armed with torches destroying homes and piling corpses. They chased after the refugees, namely the women. I unloaded every kunai I could produce at them. It distracted them but now every moblin was focused on me. I couldn't reach for my harp, a warp song would take far too long. I was about to make for swift retreat.

Poes are known for carrying lanterns. Rumor has it the oil in their lanterns was the angry spirit that the Poe was spawned from. Contrary to popular belief, Poes carry regular lanterns with actual oil in them. I would have remembered that had my mind not been so overrun with adrenaline. A moblin, apparently the leader, swung at me armed with his giant torch. I leapt back, barely able to keep traction for all the broken glass and oil. He was faster than in thought. His next strike was much closer. The torch did not make contact but I was assaulted with sudden, blinding pain.

I was burning. The agony was so unbearable I can't even remember if I screamed, but I could feel my throat straining. After that, it all goes blank save for faintly seeing a blurry figure standing over me.

Aunt Impa had come for me.

As you've probably guessed, this is the reason I wore the mask. It took three years for me to get back to my normal mobility. Rehabilitation was long and agonizing. It took two year before I could even play the harp again. It was like losing a part of me. My harp was the last token I had left of my mother. It wasn't just my face or the harp. With only one reliable eye, I had to relearn almost every fighting style I'd learned especially projectiles since my depth perception was so altered. I didn't know why Link hid his stutter until I was burned. When you are ashamed of something, you hide it even if it's no big deal to others.

That's why I kept my distance from Link when I saw him again.

My vision had very much improved then so I could easily see his confused but still somehow dutiful expression. In my opinion, he'd been cheated. He was planning on going back home after he gave Zelda the Spiritual Stones. Unfortunately, the goddesses had other plans.

By this time, I Aunt Impa took over caring for Zelda. She was alive, safe and hiding in plain sight. My orders were plain enough, no one, not even Link could know where she was was. I leapt from the window. The minute my feet touched the ground, Link's remarkable vigilance overcame his confusion and bewilderment for a minute and he drew his sword before he even turned to face me.

The legend says that my voice was "muffled by the cowl". This is a lie. Technically, I was missing half of my mouth. That was the one thing I could not hide. Link didn't recognize me. Mostly because my voice had deepened and he could barely see my face. If I hadn't known it was him, I wouldn't have recognized him either. I didn't call him by his name, I simply told him that I was waiting for him. I didn't bring up our past together like when he taught me how to swim, when I taught him how to shoot a bow and arrow, or when me, him, Malon and Zelda climbed to the rooftop of Malon's house and watched the sunset while we ate frozen Lon Lon Cream. I kept telling myself that I didn't want to distract or concern him with my appearance. Link of all people would understand my deformity, but I let my own insecurity and shame get in my way. To me, my burn scars were a show of my incompetence even thought Zelda did everything in her power to try and convince me otherwise.

Do you understand Link?" I asked him after telling him the legend of the temples. His hard, suspicious stare did nothing to ease my already troubled mind.

"Who are you?" And he asked without stuttering. His voice was resonant and deep. It startled me and he didn't stutter which scared me. Still, I never told him my name. The only real comfort I had in seeing him again was the fact that though alert and suspicious, his sweet nature and the fact that he was always willing to give someone another chance, kept him from attacking me. He was still the boy who taught me to get over my fear of skullutas. But even that sparked dread in me, according to him he was twelve years old yesterday.

Even when I met him in the Forest Temple, he was confused and now saddened at the sight of the world. Zelda and I were slowly exposed to the gruesome state of this country but for Link, it was like having every pleasant memory he'd ever had suddenly ripped away. He had the look most of the refugees from Kakariko had. He fell to his knees when he reached little Saria's favorite place to sit. I could see every memory he had with her running through his mind. When he stayed at the castle, he never shut up about her. Really, she was the reason he lasted this long. All he wanted to do was go back and tell Saria about everything he'd seen. It suddenly hit him that he would never get a chance to. Upon seeing tears in his eyes, I decided to intervene.

"The flow of time is cruel." I said. He picked up on the sorrow my voice could not contain and he let his guard down. "A thing that doesn't change is the memory of..." My voice caught in my throat as we looked eyes. "...younger days." He was starting to recognize me, I could see it in his eyes.

"Whe-e-ere i-is she?" He asked. I merely looked at the temple and he understood.

"In order to come back here, you must play the Minute of Forest." I said taking out my harp. He recognized it. Though he said nothing, he was hurt maybe even a little. I could see it in his eyes. As he followed along with me, the flashback nearly knocked me to my knees. Before the guilt could consume me, I took a step back. "Link...I..." He took another step towards me his hand went for my mask and I leapt back. "I'll see you again." I threw the Deku Nut and retreated quickly to report back to Aunt Impa.

I should've said more...done more...maybe if I had, things wouldn't have turned out so badly.

_So I would like feedback on this chapter especially, if you please. If you do you get cookies! Seriously, though I put a lot of thought into this chapter I realize it hardly put any emphasis on Link's immediate awakening and I couldn't because Sheik wasn't there. And this is in Sheik's point of view. _

_Next up: Navi's view on Link's "death"._


	4. My Boys

_This is the longest chapter yet but it's a juicy one. I'm going to warn you in advance, this chapter contains yaoi, slash or whatever you want to call it. Either way, Link falls in love with a man. This is a new twist on the whole Link/Dark Link thing. I chose this couple because:_

_-I don't like the idea of Link being paired with himself (sounds like fancy masturbation in my opinion. I'm not knocking it it's just...odd to me.)_

_-I like Link and Sheik together but it doesn't fit the story. Link is...I believe the term is uke?_

_-Dark Link has a whole lot of potential as a character_

_-And I've never seen Link as straight. Like...Ever. _

_So those are my reasons take 'em or leave them. But I hope you like this chapter I worked very hard on it. His name is pronounced Zeh-r-ahs even though it's spelled Tzeros. Just a head's up, this chapter contains dialogue directly from the game. Not a lot but still, it's not mine. Anyway, this chapter is a tearjerker get the tissues ready and enjoy._

My Boys

As told by Navi

Partner Fairies instantly adopt their charges as their children. I could safely say that I treated Link like a son. Though I can never be certain if he regarded me as a mother. I took care of him, gave him light when it was dark, helped him search for food aim for enemies. He always said that he'd be lost without me or that I was the only good thing he had to hang on to. He was my child and I wouldn't have it any other way.

But there is nothing more painful for a mother than to watch her child die.

When he was young, it was delightful to watch him grow from a small, silent little boy into a young hero. He smiled when spoken to, though he spoke only when necessary still ashamed of the way he stuttered. He was sweet and loved to hug people. Save for the Gorons, that earned him a week's stay at a Kakariko Clinic for broken ribs. He loved any kind of music even the unforgivably shrill Zora Opera. Saria was so proud of him whenever he came to visit. Darunia was like a father to him and he taught Link how strength isn't measured in just the swing of your sword. Ruto, if anything, taught him a lesson in the importance of promises. Link might've grown up to be a well-adjusted young man in spite of everything.

Link started to fade when he parted from Saria. She left him with words that made her sound like she wasn't even talking about herself. She spoke to him like the wise sage, not his best friend whom he loved. She wasn't the girl who taught him the ocarina. It was almost as if she'd faked everything she said to him just to make sure he lasted this long. But I suppose saying that would be very...cruel. It couldn't have been easy for Saria to say goodbye to him or to see him as grown as he was. Link, Rauru and I saw the tears in her eyes as she handed him the Forest Medallion. But only I saw the tears in Link's as he left the Lost Woods clutching the shard of the Fairy Ocarina that broke when Ganondorf first attacked him. He kept it on a leather string around his neck. As far as I know, he still does.

Darunia was the only father figure Link ever had and finding out he named his son after him was possibly the sweetest thing a Goron has ever done for a Hylian. He didn't give Link a chance to argue when he went to fight Volvagia himself. This time, Link barely had time to mourn losing one more person who was dear him in childhood and it was possible that he would never see him again. Link just rescued the Gorons like he was told to. His world was not just being flipped upside down, but the Goddesses were constantly shaking the snow globe that Link had known the world to be. It was so unfair to take a little boy, force him to become a man and save the world on top of it. Little by little I saw Link die. Losing his friends, his home, his world. He would often tell me I the only thing he had to hold onto. But he was determined to finish the task set out for him. For Zelda. For Saria. For Shiek, for me and everyone he loved. You could call him brave and noble, but really what drove him was love.

Love is what killed him.

The sight of the drained lake was the first time, I'd ever heard Link curse.

"Shit." That alone was frightening, there was a time where he wouldn't even dream of it. Granted he was only twelve. Now he was a grown man. Not that he really had a choice in the matter.

Moments before, he once again saaw his old friend Sheik in the Ice Cavern who, like Saria, spoke to him like a stranger. Link hadn't so much as come to grips with his detached friend as just shoving those feelings down and saving them for later. As the new Hero of Time, he could only care about the safety of others, not himself. Nevertheless, inside he yearned to talk to him like he used to. He knew something was wrong with him but in Link's mind if Sheik didn't want to talk about it, he wouldn't say anything. Honestly though, it had almost been three months since the boys who were once so close had spoken like friends should. The thought was painful enough for me, I can only imagine how terrible it was for Link. The companionship of a horse and fairy doesn't quite compare to knowing someone of your own species...and stature. Like him, I missed all of my fairy friends. He felt more and more isolated as the days went by.

The Water Temple would prove to be very different from and much harder than the Fire Temple. Water is a complex and volatile thing. Unlike fire, you can't make it, you can't change it into something else. If you do, it'll eventually be water again. Many of the puzzles Link endured only lasted for a brief amount of time. However, this was the only temple Link completed with someone other than just me.

Contrary to popular belief, Ruto did not help Link in this temple but she

was there. When we reached the bottom of the temple clomping through the water, we found her.

"Oh...you...If I'm right...Link!" All she got was a confused glance in response. "You're Link aren't you?" This time all she got was a confused "um". It didn't matter because she practically tackled Link into a hug. Link liked hugs but it was Ruto he had a problem with. It was a shame really. She had become quite a catch...for a Zora anyway. Link was not attracted to her at all. In fact, I'm sure she scared him a little. Imagine, Hero of Time afraid of a Fishwife. Okay, Fishwife is a little harsh...and...possibly racist. I just really _really_ don't like her. She nuzzled him going on about how terrible he'd been to leave her waiting for long. Link's terrified eyes screamed '_I don't even like you'_! After Ruto's one sided squeal-fest, she pulled Link and his clunky metal boots to his feet. "But this is no time to talk about love." Right. Sure, Princess. "Follow me." She swam through the space in the ceiling and Link followed after removing his boots.

We followed her puddle footprints behind a door waiting for us at the surface. We found her inspecting an insignia on the east wall featuring the Triforce. However, she wasn't alone.

Ruto was standing right next to an exact copy of herself who was standing in the same position as she was. The one red flag was this copy of the Zora Princess was completely black with white markings and blood red eyes. Link drew his sword and "Dark Ruto" had the gall to step in front of the Princess with an arm out and a Fishbone Katana, a favored weapon of the Zora's particularly Princess Ruto no surprise. But more disturbing than that was once the Dark Princess and Link made eye contact Dark Ruto transmuted into Link.

Dark Link matched every detail from the scar on Link's cheek, to the nick on his boots. The only difference was this version of Link as completely black, just like Ruto. It only took a second for "Dark Link" to get a good look at his light counterpart.

"Oh...it's you." Link didn't put his sword down. In fact, he stepped closer making a silent threat. You'd be surprised at how many enemies Link had beaten out of sheer intimidation. "Calm, down, Hero. I'm no threat." Somehow, Ruto had ended up behind Link and she laid a swift smack to the back of his head.

"Didn't you hear him? Put your sword down!" She quipped. Eying the Shadow Link suspiciously, Link lowered his sword. Dark Link smirked.

"Don't look so confused, Link." He said. "We've met before."

"Where?" I asked before Link could get the words out. I was used to speaking for him to people he didn't know. Ruto scoffed and whacked him on the back of the head as well.

"For All of Din's Damned Flames, stop messing with him and just be honest for once." She had quite a foul mouth for a princess.

"You are very convincing, Ruto." Dark Link added playfully. Ruto replied with a simple, scathing glare. Dark Link held up his hands in mock surrender and transformed into the form he was born with. He was tall, taller than Link though that wasn't exactly an incredible feat. Most people don't know our hero was just barely 5'10" at the time. His tan skin indicated a union between and Hylian and a Gerudo. His hair was like a combination of red and black ribbons tied into a loose ponytail. He was covered in scars, just like Link. He wore this smirk, that of you knew him well enough, you'd realize it was simply because he didn't quite know how to smile. Perhaps his most striking feature, was his eyes. They were like deep set rubies that shone even without light. The weapon he held was neither Fishbone Katana or Master Sword but a long staff, much like the one Phantom Ganon wielded.

"Nameless saved me from the ice." Ruto said, her regular shrill self melting off with each solemn word. "I'm sure you've seen it, Zora's Domain...home is completely frozen."

"She calls me Nameless...I don't have a name." By this time, Link had completely sheathed his sword and leaned against the wall pinching the bridge of his nose.

"Home would've been teeming with Moblins when you arrived if it hadn't been for him." Ruto said punching him appreciatively in the arm. "The shadow from the Forest lifted when he broke the Red Ice. He was going to free everyone but...we didn't have the time."

"Start from the beginning." I demanded. "How did you two even come to be here and how do this man and Link know each other?" I demanded fluttering frantically. Link held up a hand to stop me in mid rant. Ruto and her companion exchanged glances.

"Please." Link added calmly. "Exp-p-plain." A look of quiet sympathy, not pity like we normally see, passed over the man's face. He sighed and laid a hand on Ruto's shoulder as if to say he was going to start first.

"I was originally a shapeshifter...a puppet of dark magic...my only purpose was to serve Ganon." The name Ganon was like a toxic shadow that passed over the room. "I was to serve as Second-in-Command at the take over of Zora's Domain."

"They didn't count on him growing a conscience." Ruto said proudly beaming at her friend.

"I suppose." The man had lost much of his teasing humor. Only Link noticed that he was silently reliving everything he'd done. "Either way, I could only free Ruto before they were onto me. We had to fight our way out."

"He fought." Ruto said with a scoff. "Something about my safety being of the utmost importance." It seemed to gravity of the situation hadn't hit Ruto just yet.

"Since Ganon figured my capture would be a waste of time, they simply trapped me here and I am forbidden to leave. While Ruto is not bound to the temple, I am and she's not safe outside these walls. Impulsive decisions are not my forte it seems." There was more to this man. Link and I exchanged glances. We didn't trust him but incurring his wrath in a place he most likely knew like the back of his hand.

"Is there any way to lift the curse?" I ask.

"If we knew that would we still be here?" Link and I don't listen to Ruto instead we studied the man's face. He looked away and stood to his feet.

"The monster Morpha is the one spawning all the monsters in this place, granted Tektites are good food, we need to keep this place from getting any more tainted." He motioned to the insignia carved into the wall. "We know these carvings are meant to change the water level...but we don't know how we've tried almost..." I didn't realize Link had taken out his ocarina until he began to Zelda's Lullaby. The sound of the water practically being sucked out of the entire temple was like thunder. We all had to cover our ears.

"How...?"

"The Triforce." Link said slowly, trying not to stutter and embarrass himself. "It's a symbol of the royal family, it was just a g-g-guess." So close... but Link's voice remained impassive and quiet no matter if he tripped or not. Ruto's dark friend grinned and clapped Link on the back.

"Seems you were right about him, Princess." He said with a quiet laugh. Link didn't laugh or even try to smile, he didn't trust this man and he wanted to make sure he knew that.

How he did earn our trust came about a few days later. After our conversation with Ruto and her companion, we decided to split up and find all of these carvings. That was the last time we saw Ruto outside of the Sacred Realm. In hindsight, splitting up was not the best idea. The water level constantly rose and sank without warning and Link only had one functioning weapon underwater. While the Zora Tunic prevented drowning and various other maladies like Hypothemia, it did not protect against getting injured or being knocked unconscious. Both happened upon the last day we remained separated. Those damned clams! Or Shell Blades...whatever! He was attacked by an entire school of them when the water was at it's lowest. He managed to take out most of them with his sword. He was already bleeding pretty badly when the water suddenly flooded the corridor and crashed down on both of us. Always quick to react, Link trapped me in a bottle and tossed me in the air, high enough to reach to hole in the ceiling before the water completely consumed him. Such a torrent of water would've destroyed my little body. All I could see was him being thrown against the wall head first. I flew out of my bottle and waited for Link to surface.

All I saw was his bloodied hat float to the top.

I was seized with such panic, that I'd never flown so hard or fast in my life. I couldn't pull him up myself, nor give him mouth-to-mouth. I never thought I'd call on Ruto for help, but I was struck with such fear that Link could be dead, I found myself screaming for her all over the temple.

"Ruto!" I cried. Tears blurred my vision. "RUTO!" I was screaming over my own sobbing. The person I found was not Ruto but her nameless friend. "I don't need you! Where is Ruto!" I protested frantically. "Link's in trouble, where is she?" I think I even asked "what did you do with her". Like I said I didn't trust him.

"Where is he?" The man demanded.

"I don't need you I need Ruto!" I retorted. "Not you!"

"It's not that you need her, it's that you don't trust me." He replied inching to my face. I almost stopped my wings from beating at stunned silence that followed. He showed such ferocity that I was speechless. "I'm just as good as any Zora. Where is he?" We were pressed for time and I couldn't argue.

"Follow me." He morphed into a male Zora and I led him to the basement of the temple. Link's motionless body was pushed into the corner of the room, strings of blood leaked out of his wounds. For the record, Shell Blades don't cut, they shred. Nameless grabbed Link in record time. I'm not so good at flying underwater. Thank The Three for that Zora Tunic, Link would've been dead but he wasn't breathing when Nameless dragged him to the surface. The tunic didn't give him gills after all.

Ganon must have trained his soldiers in proper care and first aid because Nameless immediately got to work giving him mouth-to-mouth. I could only flutter helplessly above them praying separate prayers to Din, Nayru and Farore to spare him, _please spare my boy, don't let him die_. _Don't say you brought him all this way just to die like this._ And indeed, my prayers were answered. Link coughed up a staggering amount of water. If Nameless was sent to kill Link, he would've done it then. He'd earned my trust. With Link gasping and shaking, he took him into him arms to hold him up right and make sure he got all the water out of his lungs.

"There we go, Hero, get it all out. You're all right just cough it all out." I watched as the former soldier of Ganon's showed a kind of compassion Link had only seen from a single digit amount of people. It seemed as if this man had longed to show this type of care. Weakened and disoriented, Link latched onto him wheezing. I daresay that they looked very...cute...like this, Link nuzzled up against the man who's arms were wrapped protectively around him and it suddenly occurred to me, that this was probably the first time Link had ever felt...safe...since he'd awakened in the Sacred Realm. "Don't worry, I've got you..." Being on the other side of that sentence for the first time in his life, changed Link's attitude toward his rescuer.

...and mine.

Once Link was lucid, he tried to get up and leave but Nameless insisted he stay. Still weak, Link didn't have the right to argue. So we made a fire from one of the many treasure chests around the temple. Roasted Tektite really is good fare for a weary soldier. That's what these two were soldiers in a rare moment of repose.

"You don't have to be so quiet." Nameless replied nonchalantly. "I know you stutter and it doesn't matter to me." Link glanced over at him. "C'mon, you've been all over Hyrule, I'm sure you have something say." Still Link said nothing and Nameless frowned. "You must be thinking about Ruto." He said trying to provoke him. He still got nothing. "I wonder when the wedding will be...she seems like a springtime kind of girl, just the perfect time when Nayru and Farore hold hands and bring the cold earth back to life." I watched as a sudden wave of sadness hit the man. "...I'd like to see it again..." His sorrow was so thick I could smell it.

"Again?" Link's monosyllabic request for elaboration did not go unheard.

"I've only experienced spring as a child." He looked over at Link and smiled. "Remember? We've met before. I remember you having a much different ocarina back then."

"Saria's ocarina b-b-brok-ke when G-Ganondorf attacked me outside of Castle Town." Link explained as he showed the man the only surviving shard of the ocarina handing around his neck.

"That must've been the day he tried to chase down the princess." Nameless replied. Link nodded. It was not a pleasant day for him to remember. The remaining shards of the Fairy Ocarina had to be removed from his chest by the old man and his daughter who lingered outside their clinic by the Bombchu Game Gallery. Still, Link and I believe that that ocarina held Saria's will and friendship even if most of it did have to be removed from his chest. "I remember you playing the Ocarina the day of the Summer Solstice when my Master..."

"Ganondorf?" I asked. He nodded before continuing to speak.

"...was on his sham of a diplomatic mission to Hyrule Castle. I watched you, the princess and her bodyguard-in-training play. I was young...and I was born under special circumstances. I didn't understand why you played so frequently and seemed so happy to do it. One day I sat next to you and just listened to your ocarina." Link finally remembered.

"I remember." He said with a smile. "You startled me...I d-d-didn't even see you sit down." He laughed lightly. "When you smi-i-iled, it didn't seemed like you d-d-did it often." Nameless's face turned soft and understanding.

"I could say the same about you now." He said. Link broke eye contact. After a long moment of silence, Link did something very uncharacteristic...he spoke first.

"W-we should-d...look-k for Ruto when I-I-I conva-c-c-convale...val..."

"We shouldn't look for Ruto." Even I would've finished the sentence for Link but Nameless didn't even call attention to it. "She's the Water Sage. I know she is, I can feel it. Now that she's in the Water Temple, her spirit is supposed to pass over into the Sacred Realm. I'm sure you've assumed that the Sages must die before transcending into the Sacred Realm." Link turned a faint shade of green before pulling his knees childishly to his chest. He knew. He just couldn't bring himself to think about it. Nameless sighed guiltily wordlessly berating himself before trying to make amends. "I'm sorry I...forgot...that they were your friends." When Link didn't answer, Nameless couldn't find it in himself to leave it be. He came closer and laid a hand on Link's shoulder. Link didn't move away like I thought he would, instead he just...sank. "I really am sorry...I wish I had..."

"Wishing does nothing." Such a harsh tone for Link, it scared me. He didn't look up at either of us. I could see all the wishes he had had dying around him like rancid fish. He wished he had Saria back, he wished he was a boy again, he wished his friend were safe, he wished Malon hadn't been so mistreated, he wished so hard that he could just have his friends back. If he had them, he wouldn't need _anything_ else. He just wanted to know they were safe. Link abruptly stood to his feet and made for the water.

"Link!" I called flying after him. Nameless chased after him and caught Link just as his weakness caught up with him and his knees caved in.

"Take it easy. You're still pretty hurt." He said lightly trying not to agitate him any further but Link sdoubled his efforts in trying to push him off. "Calm down, you're going to hurt yourself more, Hero!" Nameless shouted before Link finally shoved him off in a burst of anger.

"Don't call me that!" Link shouted. I'd never hear him yell before. Maybe when attacking but never at someone. Link realized he was out of line and was overcome with guilt as he saw me hiding behind Nameless's shoulder. He turned away looking down." P...please...don't-t-t call me Hero anym-m-more." Nameless didn't protest or tell Link that he was the Hero of Time and that he had a task given to him by the Goddess. I've told him that, Zelda would've told him that, and Sheik had told him that countless times. He simply reached out a hand to Link who looked like he just couldn't stand to be in that room anymore.

"Okay Link." He said. "I won't, just please, sit back down." Link looked down at the man's hand and took it. As far as I know, this had been the first time he'd received this kind of human contact for months. As if he wasn't sure what he was doing, Nameless slowly and awkwardly wrapped his arms around Link, not to help him up but to embrace him. I could practically hear him think "Ruto did it why can't I?". Link reacted very differently to this hug. It wasn't a fight for survival like Ruto's. It was something he'd longed for, something he needed. It was how he showed affection, that he badly needed. He couldn't help but feel so guilty when he hugged Malon and she flinched. Saria couldn't cross to hug him, her arms probably would go through him anyway. Sheik wouldn't even let him touch him. I couldn't hug him. Though I wanted to so badly, for a minute, I wished I was human so I could hold my boy and let him forget the world but I could watch and breathe a sigh of relief as Nameless just sat him down and hugged him.

Link barely knew this man and yet he dug his nails into the back of his tunic. He didn't cry, he just sagged into the man's embrace trying to soak up what feeling that had been lost to him. Nameless just held him. The warm smile he wore touched my heart. I flew close and sat on Link's shoulder and joined in the comforting. Nameless's soft murmurs of "It's okay, Link, I've got you..." Are something neither me or my boy would ever forget. Before Link let sleep claim him, laying down on a pillow stuffed with crow feathers, he turned to Nameless who'd gone back to eating.

"Wh-what's the Z-Z-Zora word for Friend?" He only knew the one for fiancee. Go figure. Nameless looked at him quizzically.

"Tze'ro." He said. "Why?" Link thought in silence for a brief moment.

"Tzeros is your n-n-new na-ame." Link replied sleepily before drifting and closing his eyes. He didn't see Nameless, now Tzeros smile but I did.

"He needed that." I said perching on our new friend's shoulder. I leaned over and kissed his cheek. "Thank you."

"I needed it much more than him." He reassured me.

"I'm sorry for not trusting you." I replied. He laughed knowingly, like an old man to a young child. I don't know how much you know about fairies but, I'm not young.

"You have every reason not to really, but honestly...I'm just tired of watching all the...pain. I was born from pain and I was created to cause it. There's more to life than that, I know there is." He looked over at Link and smiled. "I want to find what life is beyond Ganon's veil. I'd like to help him." I smiled nudging him.

"Maybe they will tell stories about The Hero of Time's great companion, The Shape-shifting Shadow." I said with a giggle. He laughed along with me.

"Maybe they will, Navi, I wouldn't really care either way, just as long as I get the chance to see people live without fear." His reasoning was sweet if a little naïve. Not everyone could be happy all at once.

"You need some sleep too, Tzeros." I said flying over to Link and nestling into his hat.

"Right. Good night, Navi." Even though I was pretty sure it was late afternoon, we all settled down to sleep.

It took us hours to recover the bottle of Red Potion Link had carried into the temple. Link tried to help but Tzeros was insistent that Link stay where it was dry. So he did albeit reluctantly. We found the bottle came loose when the water came rushing in and had drifted into the corner of some forgotten corridor. Tzeros found another key adding that to his two and Link's five that gave us eight.

After Link drank the Red Potion and got a good meal in him, he told Tzeros that he wasn't going to wait anymore and that they needed to get going. Tzeros reluctantly agreed on the condition that Link would take it easy. They shook on it. Between the fighting and figuring out all those puzzles, we had spirited conversations the likes of only Saria had had with Link. Tzeros was just as physically affectionate as Link was. I take it he found it therapeutic.

"And your horse?"

"She was g-g-iven to me by Mallllon, a g-g-good friend." Link said with a fond smile as he helped Tzeros up over the ladder. Being generally larger than Link, Tzeros sometimes had to struggle to catch up to Link who prided himself on being agile.

"Malon, the girl from the ranch..." He said waiting a minute to catch his breath. "I've heard her name among the..."

"I know." Link replied darkly.

"She's one of the people you fight for I see." Tzeros replied. Link nodded in response. Malon was a sweet girl who didn't deserve what happened to her. Link couldn't bare to tell Talon that his daughter had been brutally raped by Ganon when he'd come to examine the horses. That was the first time I had ever seen Link hold a blade to a man's throat and threaten his life. He was so enraged I thought he really was going to kill him for letting Malon be treated so horribly. Ingo nearly wet himself, the coward. "What about your Hammer?"

Naturally, Tzeros was curious about the places he'd never been to. He'd never seen Death Mountain. He asked about it but the place he wanted to know the most about, was the forest and Link was more than happy to regale him. Link had only ever spoken so much to one other and that was me. Not even Saria got this much out of him. Tzeros was a piece of magic, sent by the Goddesses, I thought. Link seemed to be developing something deeper than friendship with the man. It seemed Link was developing his first crush and Tzeros was reciprocating quite well. The two were bonding out of the sheer need of regular affection. While a good 80% of Hyrule disapproves of such things, fairies are not meant to judge who should be together and who shouldn't. Most people would say that this is just a simple case of transference meaning feeling safe around someone and translating those feelings into romantic interaction. Whatever it was it was beautiful to watch it all unfold.

If everything was perfect, Link and Tzeros would return to perhaps Kakariko Village and live together. Tzeros would train children in swordplay while Link would teach them how to read and write. On rest days they'd travel to Kokiri to visit the children and bring them back books and various shiny things. Perhaps they'd visit the Gorons occasionally or swim with the Zoras at the Spring Equinox. Painful though it may be, nothing is perfect.

"Link, I have something to tell you." Tzeros said as he morphed back into himself. He often had to morph into Link to match his skill with the bow and arrow. Damn Keese. "I've figured out the reason that I can't leave the temple." Link turned to him silently asking for elaboration. It had only been a few weeks and he knew Link's mannerisms as well as I did. "I think...he..." More articulate than Link, Tzeros never hesitated to speak before. I could see his eyes go dead with fear at what he was about to say. "I believe My Master intended for me to kill you."

"What?" I was too stunned to remember who actually asked that.

"Why else would he keep me here knowing you'd be here?" Tzeros said sighing.

"But-"

"But nothing, we've searched this temple up and down for any sign on how to break the curse." It was true we'd tried everything except going to Ganondorf himself. "It's the only thing that's left." Tzeros all but threw his weapon to the ground. "This is what I meant by pain, he causes nothing but pain." He turned to Link hand out like before. Link didn't hesitate this time. "I wouldn't hurt you. Even if it meant never leaving this damned place."

"I won't leave you here." Link replied. He never stuttered when he was absolutely sure of something and he never stuttered over Tzeros's name either. Tzeros let go of Link's hand sighing like an innocent man who just had his death sentence read to the court. He sat down and buried his face in his hands, Link sat beside him knowing by now in this time of stress, Tzeros didn't need any words to make him feel better, he needed silence.

"I don't want to hurt anyone else." He said. "I killed my mother at birth not to mention that I'm an illegitimate bastard of the man who calls himself a king. I was conceived by pain." Tzeros told us the story of his birth a while back. His mother was the first female prisoner that the Gerudo had ever taken. They were under Ganondorf's orders of course. He'd kept her chained in his quarter for a month then she gotten pregnant. The witches Kotake and Koume nursed the fetus with Black Magic, giving him the ability to change shape. Tzeros's poor mother...her body couldn't take the combined force of a hard birth and toxic black magic. Tzeros had to be cut from his mother's stomach and she died before she could even name him. After hearing about his cruel treatment of the woman, many of the Gerudo formed a rebellion and staged a coup but most of them were killed. As far as he knew, the only remaining survivor of the revolt was Nabrooru. Many of the remaining Gerudo were brainwashed slaves or lived in fear. Tzeros suddenly looked back up with resolve. "Link, I want you to promise me something." He said his ruby eyes gazing directly into Link's. Link nodded in response. "If the curse that binds me to his temple forces me to harm you in any way, I want you to kill me."

"What?" I bleated. "You can't make him promise that!" For a moment, I was furious that Tzeros would even consider asking Link do such a thing.

"It's for the greater good, if he spares me, he might not make it out of the temple!" Tzeros retorted.

"Why would you put him through that if you say you don't want to cause anymore..." Link held up a hand, something that always effectively silenced me. I wilted retuning to his shoulder. Link turned to Tzeros, their faces oddly close.

"I-i-is...that what-what you really want?" He asked quietly. Tzeros's hand slid into Link's before he nodded.

"Yes." He said firmly. "Link...I couldn't...I...I wouldn't..." Normally verbose Tzeros gave up on trying to explain the feeling "if I ever hurt you I'd kill myself". Instead, he leaned in and kissed Link on the lips. While my boys were oddly affectionate, there had not been so much as a kiss on the cheek until now. Bewildered, Link pulled back. He gazed at Tzeros deep crimson eyes before inching forward. Tzeros didn't move, he waited for Link to reciprocate and he did. The two shared a soft, gentle kiss before going for a second then a third. Before they could get to the fourth, Tzeros placed a finger over Link's lips with their foreheads pressed together. "Promise me." Link closed his eyes and took the hand Tzeros had on his lips and placed his over his chest. A typical but meaningful display of solidarity.

"I promise."

The remainder of time they spent together was all gentle smiles, brushes and stolen kisses. After a particular tiring battle we three would rest together. I would often sit on their joined hands or plant a kiss on both on their foreheads. They were my boys and they were in love and after such a short time too. The messed up thing about this is, that I can't imagine Link being with anyone else. The term "star-crossed" doesn't even begin to describe them. Tzeros was Link's first love and the only thing keeping him from falling into despair. He was the only thing that could fill the hole of longing in him. While I was his fairy, I wasn't a love. I can freely admit that Link needed more than my guidance to get through this journey. There's only so much a mother can do.

I've always wondered if Tzeros could sense how close they were to the source of the curse because one day he just stopped. He turned to Link and me smiling.

"We should rest." At first Link didn't get it and replied that they should keep going. "Please." Without another word, Link immediately put down his weapons. Unlike most days, I watched them in silence. The boys were so tightly wrapped around each other it was almost as if one feared the other would disappear. I figured this would be the one time Link didn't need me around. So I found a high place until he called for me. This was their last day together and Tzeros knew it.

I don't know if anything "happened" that night and I probably never will.

I woke when Link called me and we continued our trek through the temple. It didn't take long for us to arrive in a room unlike any other in the temple. It was huge, it seemed to go on forever. The gray mist was thick. At first, all we could make out was a tree in the middle of the room. Tzeros walked to the tree, at first I thought he was simply expecting it. Link went on to look for an exit only to find that there were bars in front of the only door out and there were no enemies in sight.

"Any luck Tzeros?" I asked. I got no answer. "Tzeros?" Link looked aver his shoulder back at the tree to find Tzeros just standing there looking at him. His eyes were the only thing completely visible through the dense fog. Link traipsed back through the shallow water. Like a flash, Link jumped back as Tzeros's staff nearly sliced his face open giving Link a long gash across his face. It was the only scar he'd ever get there. The fog pulsed as if it were pouring Black Magic into Tzeros who was no longer aware of what he was doing. Slowly Tzeros went from the men we knew, into a form the legend knows him as: Dark Link.

He'd taken the form of Dark Link many times before mostly so he could copy any technique or piece of equipment that Link may have had that he didn't. This must have been his original purpose: to pose as the "dark side" of Link and kill him. At first, Link didn't fight back, the battle was just a clash of metal on metal that made my ears want to bleed. The promise he made suddenly became impossible. Slowly, it began to dawn on Link that he had no choice.

For the first time, Link would have to spill the blood of a repentant soul. He'd never taken an intelligent life before. Moblins were the closest he'd ever come to it. Link prided himself on never taking the life of something that surrendered or didn't harm him in anyway. Sure he'd dispatched countless monsters but he'd never taken the life of someone he knew. He'd never even killed another Hylian before.

Dark Link got the best of Link tripping him and he fell back into the shallow water with a cry of pain. He would've been decapitated if he hadn't brought up his sword just in time. Their faces were inches apart but this time for a very different reason. They're blades scarped against each other. But amid all the struggling and clashing, Link managed to get a good look up at Dark Link's face. For a moment, we both saw Tzeros again in those blood red eyes. The eyes that Link and I had come to accept and love were filled with tears. Under Dark Link's sinister laughter we could hear our dear Tzeros pleading with us.

"Please..." His voice was thin and choked with tears. "You...you...you promised..." The tears fell on Link's face. "...please..." Just like that, the curse took over and Dark Link was back with his disturbing malicious grin.

For here, everything seemed to go so...slowly.

Dark Link tore his sword from Link's. Had Link not been the expert swordsman he was, he would've lost his right hand. From his spot on the ground Link swung at his dark counterpart. Dark Link abandon his shield. Link had enough foresight to roll to the right before Dark Link plunged the sword into the ground, it would have his head. But Link has always been fast. In a few, fleeting seconds, Link made a crucial decision.

He made a choice between himself and Hyrule. Link would gladly sacrifice his life for Tzeros just to bring him back to the living. Maybe he could break this curse of his own will. Link didn't have that option. He put what he wanted, what he need, his peace of mind...everything behind him. All he wanted was to see his friends happy again. Malon, Sheik, Zelda, Saria even Ruto. In his mind, everyone he loved deserved peace and happiness. In the shadow of that, anything he wanted meant nothing. He might as well have burned all of his desires. He wanted Tzeros's love but his happiness mattered more.

With a loud, I could almost say tormented, cry, Link took the master sword and torn it across Tzeros's stomach. That was a kill-stroke if I've ever seen one. It always amazed me how much blood was in a living creature. It spilled over Link's face and clothes as Tzeros's body fell on top of him. Link sat up quickly holding Tzeros in his arms. The curse must've lifted just like the fog. Link and I were both hoping that Tzeros had died instantly but Link hadn't cut deep enough. He was still alive and _smiling_. Link couldn't think of anything but to beg for forgiveness.

"No...no..." Tzeros placed a hand on his cheek. They were sitting in a pool of Tzeros's blood in the shallow water. "...thank you..." Blood leaked from his mouth it was such a horrible sight. I floated down to them resting on Link's shoulder. Tzeros saw me gave me a small wink. "...thank you both...for...for letting me...letting me be..." His eyes rolled into the back of his eyes for a moment but he somehow refocused with the horrendous amount of blood he'd lost. He stroked Link's cheek. "I...I would like...to think...that I-I was in love with you, Link. Is...is that okay?" Link let out a sob that sounded like like he was trying to laugh. He nodded. Tzeros looked at me again. "You...you don't have to—tell stories...about me...just...don't forget me." I dissolved into tears.

"We won't...promise." I choked out. Link bent down and kissed Tzeros deeply. He probably didn't even taste the blood. I didn't hear what Link whispered in his ear, and I will probably never know but whatever it was, Tzeros's eyes filled with happy tears and he kissed Link's cheek leaving a bloody mark there.

"Tell me...tell me about your forest one more time please? I'd...like...like your voice...to—to be the last...one...I...hear..." Link nodded and told Tzeros about the forest in the spring when Kokiri Forest is filled with Cherry Trees and the entire forest looks pink and white for a month and even the children that live there seem to be overcome with a sense of peace.

"Good bye Tzeros."

This journey was cruel. Link had been forced to kill the first person he loved just to leave a room of nothing but illusion. His only consolation? An upgrade of something he already had. Normally I had reverence for the goddesses but I suddenly had a gnawing resentment. How could they do this to him? How could they do this to this poor boy? They take all of his friends away, his world, seven years of his life, submit him to torture at the hands of moblins guarding a place where he used to play with his best friend, force him to kill someone he'd fallen in love with and claim it's for some damn higher purpose? In my mind, I wished he'd never met Zelda. Zelda started all of this. If only Link had said "no", if only Zelda hadn't been so dead set of getting all of the Spiritual Stones. They were fine where they were. She was so fixated on what her dreams were showing her she didn't think about the consequences. All of Hyrule was hurting because she practically gave Ganon the Triforce. When Link stabbed through Morpha's nucleus with a grimace I'd never seen before, I was certain that I hated Zelda.

"When you see Nameless, be sure to give him my thanks okay?" Link didn't reply. He'd been completely silent the entire time. He didn't bother to tell her Tseros was dead. He didn't speak to me. He was practically catatonic. He only hacked and slashed his way through the Water Temple. There was nothing to pay respects to Tzeros on that island in the middle of the lake. Link didn't care that it was dawn or that the lake was rising. He didn't even hear the footsteps behind him. Or maybe he did. He just stared at the ground a dark shroud of grave silence had settled over his face.

"...The evil vanishes from the lake. Link, you..." Sheik stopped in his tracks upon seeing Link with his back turned to him. He could feel the dark shadow that loomed dangerously over Link. "Link?" He came closer.

"Link it's Sheik." I said carefully trying to see his eyes through the cover of his bangs. He didn't answer.

"Link." Sheik said a bit more firm this time. He laid a hand on his shoulder. Link pushed him off with all but a snarl.

"Don't." That single command shook me to my core. His voice was so dark and seething, he didn't even sound like him. The one visible eye Sheik had widened in shock and hurt. Now he knew how it felt to be rejected. I felt vindicated. Link...did not.

"We'll be at Kakariko Village." Sheik said breaking the heavy silence. "Me, Aunt Impa and Zelda are all there. We weren't supposed to tell you." Link stopped walking and looked back at Sheik silently telling him that if he were lying, he'd hurt him. He'd been there countless times and never saw either of them. "Please Link...we'll explain everything. I promise." Link gripped the rope of the bridge so hard, he hands were shaking. When Sheik received no answer, he sighed. "Just...be there? Please?" I searched Link for a facial expression, anything. I heard retreating footsteps but when I looked back Sheik was gone.

Link trudged to the mainland. Epona, the smart horse she was, nudged Link concerned for him. Link just saddled up but didn't urge her to go anywhere just yet. I found him staring at the Water Temple. There was a...deadness...in his eyes. His eyes used to be clear and cerulean blue. Now they seemed like great, heavy storm clouds that no matter how much it thundered, refused to rain. I knew then that the Link that I woke that fateful day, wasn't just "maturing". He was dead. The little boy who loved to play music and read had been killed and a dark, hurting man engraved the epitaph in the poor child's head stone.

"Navi?"

"Yes, Link?" I asked perhaps a little too eagerly.

"Y-you...you're...you're all I have left." A sat on his shoulder and kissed his cheek. "P-please. D-d-don't leave me."

"I won't." I replied. "Maybe...if you go back to Kakariko village, you can rest for a while. You can...tell them you need a break, or something." I flew over and rested on Epona's head. I looked up at his stormy eyes. "You can't keep going like this. Just...rest for a moment. No one will be mad." Link bent his head and I thought he was going to ignore me. Then he nodded silent and I felt my heart lift as he urged Epona into a gallop.

_We'll never forget you Tzeros. We love you._

All of us were looking forward to resting. Even Link after the trauma, seemed lighter at the prospect of good food and a good night's sleep. I didn't think we'd ever be able to eat Tektites again. Maybe bread, we hadn't had bread in forever or water without the strange aftertaste of Mantis guts. A normal bed would've been fine with actual covers and a soft mattress. There was a mutual sigh of relief as we approached the village. We ascended the stairs and our hearts fell into our stomachs in horror.

Kakariko Village was burning.

_By the way, I wrote a lemon scene for this chapter. It didn't really fit so I took it out of the main story. HOWEVER, in the reviews you guys can tell me whether you want it in...like the deleted scenes or something. I would really like some reviews ya'll. Just saying. I'm an attention whore. Feed me! Haha just kidding anyway, even if you just read it, I totally appreciate it. Love you Readers!_

_Next up: Sheik and Navi are forced to watch Link get tortured at the hands of the Shadow Temple while Zelda just leaves the room._


	5. I Should Have

_Fair warning: this chapter is really really dark. That's really all I can say without giving it away. This is about one of my favorite and least favorite temple. There are some non canon parts of this story like always. This chapter is narrated by two people Navi and Sheik. I hope Sheik's family history isn't too much of an artistic _

_I hope this chapter terrifies and delights you_.

I Should Have

As Told by Sheik and Navi

Sheik

Link occasionally speaks of a good friend he once had named Tzeros. I've noticed though, he has a smile specially reserved for this man, this indicates he was much more than a friend. I don't mind same sex relationships as much as Zelda does so when he talks about him I just smile. When I asked what happened to Tzeros Link simply replies "Ganondorf killed him". But for Link the word "died" carried such a weight with it, it nearly fell through the floor boards and put a hole in the basement. The bloodstains on Link's Zora Tunic were Tzeros's that much I knew. Even though the tunic was pretty much ruined, Link never threw it away even after he bought a new one. I don't know much about this Tzeros but I know he meant a lot to Link and losing him introduced him to a pain that only those who lose their loved ones feel. I felt it when my mother passed away. Perhaps that's why he talks to me about him the most. Link asked to have a headstone for him in the graveyard. When asked what he wanted it to say, he replied: _You don't have to tell stories to me, just don't forget me_. According to Navi, those were the man's last words. It's a pity he asked for a grave marker, Link can't even bear into go into the graveyard anymore.

Navi once said that Link "died" in the Water Temple. She says whatever traces of the old Link we knew had completely vanished. I won't deny that he was certainly different and their was a part of him that had been lost but to say that Link _died_ there? The Shadow Temple might as well have destroyed him.

The Shadow Temple was built by our ancestors in honor of the Great Raven. The Great Raven is the Goddess's humble servant in ferrying the dead to their final resting place. We Sheikah, as trained Spirit Mediums and Card Readers, worship the Great Raven. We are meant to walk the thin barrier between living and dead. However, there was a group of secret separatists seeking to do more than just ask spirits to guide them but to rise them from the ground to live again whether they wanted to or not. Only the goddesses should have that power. The Necromancers used the deepest sanctions of the temple to carry on gruesome experiments on anyone from the Elderly to pregnant women even the fetuses that were cut from their bodies. They carried out horrible torture that would make even Ganondorf pale. That's not an exaggeration. Even though he did use some of their techniques in necromancy, not even Ganon would resort to the methods of torture that my ancestors invented. Honestly, that temple is the greatest downfall of the Sheikah and my family's personal shame. My father's mother, was one of those Necromancers. We don't consider her a relative anymore.

Slowly, the temple instead of a shining place for the dead to come rest, it became infested by darkness, millions fell ill from it. Even my mother who was just a child at the time. She suffered from complications from it all her life. That's what killed her. One day, she just...didn't wake up. The darkness accumulated into a dark figure the Sheikah called "The Shadow". Later we named it Bongo Bongo after the drums we used to bind it. It was invisible to anyone who wasn't trained as a medium or who couldn't "see the truth". Ironically, the Leader of the Necromancers used a shortcut since he didn't have the aptitude for being a spirit medium: The Lens of Truth. We burned him, his house once him and all of his books written on Necromancy and Black Magic. Unable to destroy it, we buried the Lens where the well stands today. If I had known Link was going to use that thing I would've said something.

I should've gone with him. I should've told him that only a medium could make sense of that place but I had been so consumed with my aunt's sudden disappearance, the fire and was already injured. My presence would've been counter productive.

I suppose deep down, I'd always known that my Aunt Impa would have a major part in this tale, so when she left I knew that she had to be the Shadow Mage but that didn't keep from me from worrying myself sick. At this point, I could only hope her death was quick and painless. Sometimes I suddenly feel completely alone. She was the last of my immediate family. She'd taken over the protection of the royal family when my father died shortly before I was born. So to Zelda, she was something of a mother. Really, Zelda despised her biological mother for leaving her. I think of Zelda as my cousin. Just like my Aunt and my father, I will carry on the tradition of protecting the heir to the Royal Throne. Sheikah protect their own.

Bongo Bongo's attack on Kakariko was not meant to kill or harm but to intimidate and to draw out this supposed Hero of Time. Still it was swift and brutal, a few did die. By the time Link arrived, Zelda and two others were leading an evacuation to Goron City. Since Link had taken down Volvagia, it would be an easy trek. Tektites were not so much of a threat now that we were grown. I cornered Bongo Bongo at the well. I thought I had been successful. I was chanting, using every spell in my memory to keep it at bay and inside. I realize now that he was only toying with me. He was waiting for Link. The thought of this all being a trap hadn't dawned on me and I hoped Link and I would've been able to beat it right then but, Bongo Bongo had other plans. It wanted to fight us on it's terms, we would have no choice but to go after it. Upon seeing us both, he decided to level the playing field. I felt it slithering, snaking out of it's hole breaking every single spell I'd placed. I heard Navi call my name.

"Get back, Link!" Disoriented, I had no time to react. Bongo Bongo took me and threw me to the ground. I felt about four ribs, my nose and jaw break on impact. Upon later examination, I dislocated my shoulder too. Link barely had enough time to slip a Red Potion in my hand. If you drink a Red Potion soon enough, it can heal you completely; the longer you wait, the less it does. The shadow didn't make physical contact with Link, instead it...consumed...him. At first, I thought it was looking for something namely the Lens of Truth. I would find out later that it was indeed searching for anything tangible. It was learning all it needed to know about the hero.

All I could hear is was Link screaming when he was dropped to the ground. I barely had enough time to swallow the red potion before leaping up for round two, but Bongo Bongo was gone and Link was unconscious. The Red potion didn't heal me completely two of my ribs were still pretty bruised so breathing was difficult. When I turned Link over he was already regaining consciousness coughing like he'd been drowning. The wind had been knocked out of him.

"Are you okay?" We asked each other simultaneously. After a brief pause and chuckle, Link noticed my pain and told me that it would be better if I got to safety, wherever the other villagers were or if I couldn't move enough, stay on the steps and wait out the fire.

"But..." I tried to stand and go after him, but couldn't hold the groan of pain back as my knees buckled. As it turns out I had a slight concussion as well. Unable to protest any further, I agreed to teach him the Nocturne of Shadow in lieu of leading him there myself.

Every time I taught him another song, I had a brief flashback of old times sitting in the castle gardens playing music, trying not to wince if he hit a bad note. His musical prowess had improved greatly. I was proud of him, proud of a stuttering little boy who became a hero. The minute I am overcome with fond memories, my heart begins to ache with guilt. I've always wanted to go with him, like I said Sheikah protect their own. This was Link's destiny and I was one of Zelda last defenses. As much as I wanted to fight with Link, I could only do what was expected of me. The more I thought about it, the crueler the word "destiny" seemed to me.

I grabbed both of his shoulders and looked him square in the eye as the rain began to pour down around us. He met my gaze. Yes, something in him had definitely been lost to the Water Temple. "Listen to me, this temple is unlike anything you've ever faced before. If it gets to be to much, do not hesitate to get out of there. Understood?" Link told me that he understood and that he'd come back with it's head, it it even had one. I shivered. I'd never heard Link talk like that. He was rubbing off of me though. I reached forward and hugged him tightly. "I'm so sorry." I said quietly not yet ready to reveal my face to him. Link didn't reply he just hugged me back...a little too tightly for my bruised ribs and he didn't let go for a long time. For a minute, I really _really_ wanted to cry but I could only tell him to be safe when he strode to the graveyard.

I should have gone with him.

Navi

The Torch Lighting was easy enough. Link told me that according to Sheik the temple torches were extinguished to close to temple forever and could only be lit all at once. With Din's Fire, it took a bit of magic but Link had enough Blue Potions to supply every one of Hyrule's Potion Shops. He didn't want another incident like the missing bottle in the Water Temple. He didn't want to lose a day, especially not here. Sheik's warning hung over up like sand constantly pouring over our heads.

The door opened and Link swallowed. The corridor before us led to nothing but a void of crushing shadow. Link was a child of the forest, the open air and sun. He'd be trapped underground for possibly days and walking inside a vast maze of a graveyard. I wish I could say that he confided to me how frightened he was but we didn't speak to each other. I was shaking though, my anxiety nearly crushed me.

Sheik was right. This temple was different than the others. In the Forest Temple, Link was in the midst of his element. It was different in the Fire Temple. The temperature was unbearable but there was light everywhere, not a corner of that place was dark. For the Water Temple, we had Tzeros. There was not an ounce of comfort here. The minute Link strode into the unforgiving shadows, the fumes of decaying flesh hit our noses like sharp blades. It felt like we had walked right into a stone wall of noxious fumes. You cannot possibly imagine the stench. It can't even give a proper word to describe it. Link gagged and he braced a hand against the wall and clamped the other hand over his mouth.

"Link?" I asked cautiously. I admit it, I was scared. Ever the silent one, Link merely held up his hand, imploring me to wait a minute. He just had to get used to the smell. He spit on the floor, ready to vomit, but nothing came up. He waited for a few more minutes. His nostrils stopped burning and his eyes stopped watering. A few calm breaths and he was back to his stoic hero facade, it was what everyone expected of him. Always. "Are you scared?" He didn't answer me. I sat on his shoulder, giving off the faint warmth I always do. "You're not alone okay?" I said nuzzling against his neck. I was still shaking and I hated myself for it. I didn't want him to think he had to be strong for me.

Using his longshot, he traversed the first gap. And found himself staring at a wall. He looked down at the chasm at his heels and sighed. He began searching for a switch of some kind. When he put his hands on the wall, however, he fell straight through it. He scrambled to his feet frustrated and cursing loudly. I winced still not used to hearing him use such language.

"Link, the lens." I reminded him. With a smile of thanks, Link grabbed the lens. The strange thing about the Lens of Truth, it that you didn't have look through it. You just had to touch it and it vanished...into you. I didn't really seem safe to either of us. So Link agreed only to have the Lens when absolutely necessary. Unfortunately in a place like this, it was always necessary. We were going to spend maybe a day and a half or two days in there and then leave, rest, eat and then come back. We would've followed that plan for however long it took.

But when you make plans, the goddesses laugh their asses off.

The Lens of Truth gave Link's eyes an unnatural glow. The whites of eyes turned black and irises turned a shockingly bloody crimson with hits of something that could possibly be called violet. It was more like the color of well rotted flesh. We gazed up at the Statue of the Great Raven. With Sheik as our friend, we wanted to pay the proper respects. Filled with reverence and respect, we bowed to the stone crow, said a short prayer for protection and went on our way.

The deeper we went into the Shadow Temple, the more humid and thick the air got and it wasn't from the ground water. Link couldn't stand to touch the walls anymore because of the thick, blood streaked slime the coated the earthen walls. I couldn't bare to look down on the ground for seeing the large stains of semi fresh blood and bits of guts and entrails from Bongo Bongo's feeding. Enduring the smell was bad enough.

The sights were bad, the sounds were even worse. With ever step there was this horrible splat noise. On more than one occasion, Link had to wade in ankle deep bloody sewage. It made this abominable sloshing noise. But the whispers were the worst. The droning unholy chanting sent shivers up my spine. There were time where Link would just...stop. He'd gaze up at the endless darkness. His eyes would glaze over and I would have to call his name to get him out of his stupor. The false walls we walked through taunted us with the "bloody history of Hyrule". Honestly, I have no doubt that primitive Hyrule was violent. Violence is an instinct, peace is learned.

We passed through a total of three false walls before we got separated.

The Lens of Truth started to take a toll of Link giving him unbearable headaches. He'd complain about his eyes burning. But I think what bothered him the most was what he saw. One Re-Dead is an affront unto the goddesses. A veritable bevy of them is a complete abomination. Re-Deads are the decaying manifestation of not only soul but a soul that was forcibly pulled from it's body by Black magic. A fate worse than death. They envy the living and let out these horrible, tormented screams when you approach them. The ones in the market were nothing compared to these things. The Re-deads in the Shadow temple had at least two decades to wait for living soul to cross their path. Their hate for the living could only fester in that time.

Something was...off...about Link when he fought them. That much I could tell. When he entered the room, the Lens of Truth was already equipped. We were planning on going back just two more rooms to go for this floor. Link couldn't sleep here another night. When he saw the Re-Deads, I caught a look of pure horror cross his face. For a minute, he was completely still. The Re-Deads let out their loud, anguished screams slowly stalking toward us. Link's movements were jerky and I'd never seen his decapitate something before, run it though maybe but never just lobbing the head completely off. In spite of them missing their heads, the Re-dead were still screaming. The most disturbing thing was that without their heads, it wasn't just one scream but a conglomeration of screams of pain, pleas to stop or have mercy, children crying. Link couldn't just cut them he had to completely destroy them to get them to stop attacking. For a minute we stood there stunned. Silence clogged the entire room. Link couldn't seem to tear his eyes from the chucks of gummy, rotting flash and congealed blood. He shook his head feebly with the light from the Lens of Truth I could see the veins pulsing around his eyes. He was already strained.

"Link, we should get going." Link retrieved the map and slowly trudged out of the room. Before I could tell him that there was only one more room to go, the glow left his eyes and the Lens of Truth clanged and clattered onto the floor. Link suddenly doubled over hands against the wall. This time, he did vomit only able to take small, shuddering breaths in between the profuse vomiting. What was worse is he kept dry heaving as if wishing he could purge everything he just saw. It suddenly dawned on me that the Lens of Truth let him see much more than those two Re-Deads. Sheik warned us about what we might find. We all knew how his mother died and about the necromancers. "What did you see?" I asked quietly.

"H-how they di-ied." My heart gave an unhealthy twist when he vomited again. "The...there were so many..." He made another sound that sounded remotely like a sob but Link hadn't really _cried_ since Impa found him talking to me that night seven years ago. I was pretty sure that he lost the capacity to do so when Tzeros died. I could only imagine what gruesome deaths he must've seen. However, in my head, he saw an illusion nothing more.

I should've told him to stop.

I should've told him to go back then.

I shouldn't have pushed him.

"Come on, Link. One more room." I said softly. Link wiped his mouth and looked up at me breathless from violently emptying his stomach on the floor. He nodded picking up the Lens of Truth, now dusty from falling on the floor. He walked like his body could only just be dragged along the floor. He was slow, not as alert. I considered telling him to go back now, but we were almost done with this wing of the temple. We couldn't stop now.

We should have.

The next room didn't seem like much. We didn't see the hands at first even with the Lens of Truth. This is where we found the Hover Boots. The chest they were in seemed innocent enough. We didn't check because we were in a hurry to leave.

We should have.

The thin ground beneath the chest crumbled, had Link not scrambled back in time, he would've fallen through. The hole in the middle of the floor wasn't that big, Link wouldn't have fallen through even by accident. We went to head out of the room when bars clamped over the door. Story of our lives. Link barely turned in time to see a pale, bloody hand launching toward us.

"Dead Hand!" I shouted watching as at least six hands sprouted from the ground. Link chopped the long arm in half. "Four to the west, two to the east!" I shouted. After a nod of acknowledgment, Link cut two more hands down on the east. We've seen a dead hand before, which is why we knew something was wrong when we didn't see the vessel. A Dead Hand Vessel plays host to all the arms that sprout from the ground. The arms help it feed and it's choice food is living flesh. It's favorite delicacy is the flesh of a Hylian.

Normally, I'm not caught by surprise. I've said before, I may be a younger fairy but I'm older than any Hylian not much scares me anymore but I screamed when the Dead Hand host came lashing from the hole roaring. Strings of decaying flesh hung from it's large jaws. Link doesn't have fairy senses, like any Hylian, he was be caught off guard. Even more so in his drained state. My moment of distraction didn't just affect me. Hands oozed from under the pile of white, shapeless flesh. Link had only moments to fight back and he still wasn't fast enough. The hands grabbed him. According to the rumor, no one has ever heard a Dead Hand speak and live but we did.

"Bring him alive." The voice is every bit as sickening and terrifying as you could imagine. It dampened my fairy magic so thoroughly that my wings suddenly forgot to fly and I plummeted to the ground. I was disoriented, dizzy and my consciousness was fading. I could vaguely hear Link struggling and shouting trying to fight against the hands. The yelling split my head. He called my name desperately over and over, trying to see if I was okay. He wanted to see if I was okay while those evil hands with jagged ugly nails tried to drag him into that black hole.

He just wanted to know that I would be alright.

My numb wings fluttered and feeling suddenly came back to them. Among the shouting and screaming, I looked up where the Master sword was planted in the ground. It seemed Link had stabbed it through the floor to keep from being dragged inside the abyss. I managed to turn just in time to see Link's face. I felt like I'd been crushed by terror. Pure terror. All I could see was his face and his arms. The hands were latched onto him pulling him into the hole that at first, didn't seem so threatening. The Dead Hand Host had vanished into hole but was still roaring commands to it's undead hands. Link's hands were bloody, scraping the ground trying to stay up. He was trying to get to me...to see if I'd been hurt. My heart broke.

"Link..." With the jagged nails tearing Link's tunic, skin and hair, he smiled, _just like Tzeros._ The moment we met eyes, time stood still. For one moment, time was not the bane of our existence. Yet I was still completely helpless. I couldn't pull him up, I couldn't fight the Dead Hand. I couldn't even shine bright enough to hurt it's eyes. Link was able to tear his hand loose of his captor. He could barely even struggle anymore. He tossed a shiny object my way. Those three seconds lasted forever. Then a hand grabbed his hair.

"Go." And he was gone.

For a minute, I remained in the dark fluttering around trembling. I tried to test my wings. With a short cry produced from shooting pain in my back, I realized that my left wing had been badly damaged. I ran to the hole. I gazed into the blackness seeing only fog.

"Link!" I cried. My eyes filled with tears, reality set in like a knife to my stomach. "LINK!" I was close to hysterical. "LINK!"

Nothing.

I could only cry. I don't know how long I sat there on the floor bawling naively wishing Link was spout back out of the hole victorious against the Dead Hand. After crying until dehydration was imminent, I numbly searched around for anything that might help. All I could see was the Master Sword embedded in the floor. I had been dragged a ways before Link was forced to let go of it. There were nails marks streaked with blood on the floor along with six fingernails. Severed hands lay everywhere. My boy wasn't a...man...of many emotions but I could see desperation all over those scratch marks. Observing the holes and streaks I could see the minute he saw I was okay. I will never forgive myself for that. He knew it was useless to resist. Just like everything else. Link couldn't resist the impossible destiny that the goddesses and a useless little princess had forced him to fulfill. That's when I noticed the shining object that he'd thrown to me. It was the Ocarina of Time.

"Damn you, Zelda."

_So I'm asking for the usual read and review. I'm considering writing a part two for this chapter perhaps I will consider it. I'd like a few constructive responses too, not that you guys haven't given my some lovely criticism already. Thank you for the reviews I've gotten. I love you readers. _

_Next up: Zelda didn't expect to see Link this way..._


	6. Wisdom Is Gained From Experience

_So this chapter is a little different pacing than the others. This is immediately following The Shadow Temple. Those of you who have read this story so far know that I tend to skip a fair amount of time. _

_Notes: _

_-Zelda says "eight years". I personally think it's been about a year at this point in the game._

_-Farik is not a Hyrule version of Kafei. There was some confusion with my Beta._

_-And I will explain why Link didn't end up going straight to the Sacred Realm. Later._

Wisdom Is Gained Only By Experience

As told by Zelda

The land and air around us let out a sigh of relief as the shadow surrounding Kakariko village lifted. Bongo Bongo had been defeated. We could feel it. Even at midnight, the entire Village froze and suddenly gave a shout of celebration. I was with Sheik. I ran to the window calling to my pensive bodyguard.

"Sheik! Sheik, come look!" I cried. I might as well have been twelve again bouncing up and down at the window. "He did it!" I pointed to the sky as the dark clouds slowly drifted apart exposing the starry sky we missed for weeks. In spite of my excitement Sheik didn't respond at first. His back was turned to me, shifting through his cards, most likely thinking of Impa. He wasn't wearing his suit or his mask, just a simple night shirt and his breeches. I will never say it out loud but...his face...his legs and arms...by the goddesses. It's difficult to put into words the way Sheik forced himself into moving every day. It was almost like I could hear his body creaking under the weight of his deformed skin. He always seemed so...heavy. In my nightgown, I walked over to him and laid a hand on his shoulder. He gave a start. "Sheik?" I asked a little concerned that I'd caught him off guard.

"Sorry...what'd you say?" He asked distractedly. He tried to smile, but really only one side of his face was functional. He always tried to make me feel better, but his mind was with Link. In spirit, he was with Link he was the first brother he'd ever had. Sometimes...I wondered if...Sheik ever...never mind, it's impossible.

"The clouds..." I said. "They're gone." He stood to his feet and followed me of our small house and outside into the celebrating villagers. He stared up at the sky, and I was hoping I'd see some form of happiness. I would've willingly given up my Triforce of Wisdom to see him happy. Sheik gazed pensively at the sky then a sudden knife of emotion drove straight into his chest. He teeth bit the good half of his lip and his hands formed into fists. I watched hand over my heart in empathy as tears filled Sheik's eyes and his knees failed him. Impa was gone. It had just hit him that she was really and truly gone. He was the last of his line. He had no living relatives. On his knees in the grass, he bent his head hand over his mouth as he began to cry. Tears poured out him. He sobbed so heavily his whole body shook. I knelt next to him and he buried his face in my shoulder almost immediately. It was ironic how or positions had been switched in the moment. Just months prior I was in his position. I am known to be...emotional at times.

Amid the celebration, Sheik and I sat in the grass mourning the woman we loved like a mother.

The entire village planned a feast in Link's honor. At first, no one caught on to my true identity...but I'm pretty sure they had more than just an inkling by this time. We were going to play music, dance and eat until we were exhausted with joy. Most of all, we would forget. Forget about the outside, the darkness, the heartache...just for day. We wanted to laugh and enjoy ourselves.

"He wasn't supposed to be there for so long..." Sheik said quite randomly as the sun rose over the mountains. "I told him to come back if it got to be too much."

"I'm sure he's fine." I replied checking on the roasted cucco.

"He's not back." Sheik replied grimly. I sighed not willing to let his pessimism get to me today. Maybe I should have.

"Sheik, time in the Sacred Realm passes much differently than the corporeal world." I explained for the billionth time. In many ways, the Sacred Realm's passage of time was my greatest downfall. For someone so vigilant, Sheik could be surprisingly impatient sometimes. "I assume he just wants to say goodbye." I said in a softer voice. Nothing I could say would make him feel better.

He was right to be worried.

"Ilka! Sheik!" Farik was always the picture of cheerfulness. He was the co-owner of the Potion Shop. His Elder sister, Anji, kept cuccos one of which I was cooking at the time. His mother, Noba, was the widely known "Potion Hag". She was a Sheikah and Farik was the only child who seemed to care about preserving that half of their roots. He always hung around the house when he wasn't busy. I'd never heard him sound so frantic.

"What is it?" Sheik asked. They began to talk in Shadow Speak frantically. Sheik's mounting urgency compelled me to follow both of them outside to a crowd of people. Farik took a soft glowing ball of light from his wheelchair bound mother. I felt my heart hit the bottom of my stomach.

"Navi."

"She can't even fly straight." Farik to both of us. It was widely assumed that we were closest to Link as we always talked about him. Navi's warm light was fading with each labored breath. Her left wing was completely bent. I was more qualified at healing than anyone else and the first thing out of my mouth was,

"She needs Blue Potion." I said quickly. Anji nodded and took off towards her mother's shop.

"Why not simply red potion?" Farik asked.

"It's not strong enough, she's a combination of flesh and magic. She can't survive on one or the other." I replied. Rubbing her head with my index and middle finger gently, I looked up at Farik. "Did she say where Link was?" I asked swallowing thickly more afraid of the answer than I care to admit. But Sheik and I both sighed in relief as Farik said no. So at least there was a chance he was alive. When Anji returned with the Blue potion, we had to use an eye dropper to feed it to her. When she awoke she flew around frantically.

"Sheik! Sheik! Where is Sheik? I need him!" She called not lucid enough to look down the realize that she was flying around his head. Sheik actually has to grab her and calm her down. Navi The Fairy always seemed like a very motherly creature, now she'd lost her child. Any mother I know would only be able to focus on finding her child. Except my own of course. "Link...Link is..." She thought for a minute. "I don't know _where_ he is!" She was on her fairy knees sobbing in Sheik's outstretched hands. "He's still in the temple! You have to find him. Bring back my boy, please."

Her "boy". Her pleas moved me and every female watching. Link and Navi's bond was fascinating. I wondered how something so small could hold such commitment and, as I found out later, resentment.

"I'll go with you." I volunteered. As soon as the words left my mouth, Sheik replied with a stern,

"Stay here." I found myself reluctantly planted in my spot. He leaned in close to me. "Don't let anyone follow or come looking for me." He said. "Especially Farik." He added. He looked to Navi. "Lead the way." He said quickly and she did so.

I hated staying behind, but being safe is what I'm good at. Last time I wandered off on my own, my bodyguard and only friend was nearly killed by severe burns and his Aunt was forced to come out of hiding and jeopardize the mission. All because of me...

All because of me...

All my fault.

It only took Sheik a day to return. An extremely short time compared to the weeks Link spent trying to find and kill Bongo Bongo. I spent most of it helping everyone put the food back, taking down the decorations for the feast that we were so looking forward to and keeping Farik from asking too many questions. The villagers expressed their disappointment and great concern but I assured them Link would be alright even though it was increasingly obvious that I could not believe my own words. I slept in Anji and Farik's house that night. I had been sleeping rather peacefully which was odd. I normally found myself a victim to nightmares and hours of tossing and turning. My most notable feature is the bags under my eyes. It must have been past midnight when I heard the screams.

Those _horrible_ screams.

Anji, Farik and I all simultaneously leapt out of bed scared into an adrenaline rush. Farik was the first one out of the door, Anji followed me. My heart stopped for a moment spotting a crowd gathered at the door of Impa's old house. That was where Sheik and I were staying. The screaming poured through the windows. The wind was knocked out of me the minute I recognized the voice. I clamped a hand over my mouth to stifle a sob induced by fear. Tears burned my eyes. I couldn't stop running to the door. I tore through the small crowd calling Link's name. The hand prints on the door were bloody. Panic ran through me before I could stop myself from pounding on the door.

"Sheik?" I cried. "Sheik!" I got no answer at first. The screams didn't stop. I covered my ears. I don't know who grabbed me, possibly Farik but all I could do was cover my ears and will those screams away. I can't even begin to describe them. The agony...the fear...it makes my toes curl just to think about it. The sun was barely up when Sheik found me sitting on the stairs alone. I gasped when I saw him in his bodysuit and his hands were covered in blood. He looked sheepish.

"Nayru..." I breathed. "Is he...?"

"No." Sheik said reaching out to touch me. I backed away not realizing how much that could have hurt his feelings. "But...I'm not sure if that's a good thing."

"He can't die he has a destiny...he can't possibly be better..."

"Zelda." He interrupted sharply. "Right now, Link is not the Hero of Time." A dark silence passed between us. "He's badly wounded...inside and out."

"He's bleeding internally?"

"No!" I jumped when Sheik snapped. I didn't get it. He took a minute to compose himself and prepare me for what was coming. "He...he's been tortured." I felt like I was going to vomit. I had to sit back down.

"So...the screaming...?" It was all I could get out at the time.

"Physically, he's unconscious but healing." Sheik attempted to explain.

"Mentally?" Sheik merely shook his head in response. I took a deep breath preparing myself for the news.

"He was tortured extensively. And he could still be possessed by the Lens of Truth. It's the only weapon we didn't find. It's probably drained his magic so deeply that it's poisoning the rest his body." He took a breath. "He's alive but he's in so much pain, I..." The empty sigh that left his mouth broke over us like a violent wave. Sheik turned away but I could see the beginnings of tears in his eyes again. "I almost wish he wasn't...if only to have mercy on him." My brain couldn't acknowledge the fact that he'd said that and I immediately asked,

"When can I see him?"

"You can't." The response propelled me forward to silently challenge her as if to say "try and stop me".

"Why not?" Sheik didn't exactly answer me at first. He just brushed past me heading back to the house. "Sheik!"

"Farik and Anji said you could stay with them." Sheik replied. "I've already brought your clothes to them." By the time he was finished that sentence, he was halfway back to the house. When I tried to follow, the doors were locked and the windows were drawn. No one could see him.

All we could hear was Link's unbearable screaming.

I couldn't get the image of Sheik's bloody hands out of my head. It was all Link's blood. Sheik for all his stealth and preciseness was often hasty. Link would've washed his hands, Sheik did not. We needed to be together...to balance each other out again. Hearing those screams, and pleas for forgiveness..._who is Tzeros?_...it made me yearn for the days when we were young.

That time was arguably the best months of my life. I think what made such a short time so important to us was it was the first time in our lives that we didn't feel isolated. We were free. I was free of protocol, Sheik free of mourning, and Link free of childhood cruelty. Even now, he still apologizes for something as simple as laughing too loudly. I learned so many things. We laughed more, I learned what tag was. Can you believe it? I didn't know what tag was before I was twelve. That's how boxed in my life was.

Until Sheik, Link and later Malon walked into my life and everything was illuminated. They opened up a world beyond the castle walls. Link was the one who got us to sneak out. He taught me how to play music. For all of us, it was a time of freedom. It took me a while to realize, but to Link, we...his friends...we were freedom. I tread wit guilt knowing I was the person who set him out on this binding task. Unfortunately wisdom is the the kind of knowledge that you only gain through experience. Like learning that when a Sheikah wants you to stay out, you won't be able to get in. No matter how many times you pick the lock and he won't just leave the door open by accident.

"He's gone." Sheik said before I could even ask anything. The house didn't carry the scent of death anymore. Sheik sat on Link's bed, head bent in exhaustion, no longer in his body suit, no mask, just a simple tunic and pants. The only trace of Link was the pile of bandages covered in brown, dry blood sitting on the small table by the bed. I feared the worst.

"You mean he's..."

"Gone. He left."

"When?" Sheik froze and looked up at me confused.

"You mean...you didn't see him?" I shook my head. "You've been standing outside the whole time you didn't..." Sheik got up and began to pace. The agitation rose so quickly I could feel his Shadow Cards tremble from their place on the shelf. He continued to pace as he passed me a letter addressed to both of us.

_I'm almost done._

That was all it said. I tried not to cry, I was already giving myself a headache. I've seen newborns cry less than I have. Deep down I'm still an emotional, stupid, spoiled little princess. Upon seeing my tears, Sheik snapped again. It was even worse knowing my last pillar of strength was cracking.

"That...stupid, prideful ASS!" A nearby chair clattered to the floor. I assumed he knocked it over. "He didn't even..." His breath caught in his throat. "...say goodbye. I don't even know how he got better...he was barely conscious not hours ago." I sat in the chair Sheik must have sat in while caring for Link and I realized with a soft gasp that I was sitting on something. Sheik was still talking...whether to himself or me still remains a mystery...but I looked closely at what I had sat on.

"Sheik..." I said softly fingers gracing my mouth in quiet mournful surprise. He stopped in his ranting and turned to me just as shocked as I was. I was holding the Shadow Medallion. "It was Impa." I said unable to stop myself from stating the obvious. Sheik smiled sadly.

"She was the only one who would know...how...how to dispel the Lens of Truth." Sheik said. "He must've forgotten it..." I stood and let him take the medallion, he traced his fingers along it marveling in it's dark, morbid beauty. I smiled.

"You should take it to him. It could keep the same thing from happening." I could barely blink before Sheik squeezed me tightly. One could call it a "glomp".

"Thank you."

But I never saw Link until his quest was almost over.

Ever since I met Link, I've always imagined how this horrible nightmare would end. Link, ever the valiant soldier, would strike down Ganondorf with a triumphant cry of victory. The triforce would be repaired, the skies would open up and the goddesses would smile down on us. We'd hear the joyous cries of relief from the citizens of Hyrule. Together, Sheik, Link and I would stand atop the ruins of Ganondorf's castle hands clasped together as the cleansing rain poured down over the land and the sun broke through the clouds. It was my fantasy. My dearest possession that no one not even Ganondorf could take that away from me. I held onto it throughout our years of hiding. I forced it into my dreams instead of falling victim to all those nightmares brought on by the horrors I saw everyday.

Tsk...I can't even say that with a straight face.

I am a delusional princess who thought she could save Hyrule by sending a little boy who was afraid to even speak to get the Spiritual Stones at great personal risk all because I had a dream about him. Should I have waited? Should I have just sent Sheik to tell Link where we were hiding? Should I have just told Link to stay with us at the castle until he was a little older?

Probably.

It's unfortunate that wisdom is the kind of knowledge you can only gain from experience. Now I have enough wisdom to never do something like this again. Yes, I am being sarcastic. Sheik claims he can never tell. Sheik was the reason I survived those seven years not that sick little fantasy of an emotionally repressed 12 year old princess who sent a dear friend out to do her dirty work. I can't even begin to say how much I owe him and Link. I'm just lucky everything turned out for the best and I was able to fix it.

Well...fix everything but the most important thing.

Person.

"I'm just giving you a warning, Zelda. He looks very...different." Sheik had said. I wish that only had prepared me for what I was about to see. When Sheik offered his hand, and escorted me into the light, Link and I met face, to face for the first time in eight years. The sight of his face nearly knocked the wind out of me. He was pale, in spite of the sheer amount of sun he must've gotten in the desert. His eyes used to be big blue oceans. Energy and love flowing like waves breaking on the shore. The love was still there, but I saw exhaustion, bloodshot and burst blood vessels. The great ocean mixed with all the grime and refuse of Ganon's empire and evaporated becoming great, looming storm clouds that did nothing but thunder but never rained. He had a small nick on his cheek but the most notable scar on his face was a long but shallow gash from his cheek to his forehead. Most of his body was covered...I've never seen all of his scars. His tunic must've been badly damaged at the Spirit Temple...because the tunic he was wearing was obviously new. But it was the only thing that looked new on him. Even the Master Sword was beaten and worn. The bags under his eyes rivaled even mine. There was a small crust of blood under his nose. It must've been the dry air. Two or three fingernails were missing on each hand. He, like Shiek who was missing most of his from the burns, wrapped bandages around his fingers. From under his hat, I could tell his hair was thinning and falling out. Even if he smiled, every expression he made was just so...haunted.

"Zelda..." His vocal chords had been permanently damaged. No more singing for him. He rarely sang but when he did, he was still very good. Music was his forte. He hugged me so tightly I couldn't breathe. I wanted him to be angry with me. Shout at me "why did you make me do this?" but he didn't. He nearly cried. "I-I-I...never thought I'd see you again...I m-missed you." He missed me. Why couldn't he have hated me? Why couldn't he have been angry at the very least? All of this was my fault. My fault. I'd made such terrible decisions, robbed him of any peace of mind and seven years of his life. How could he not be angry how could he not hate me. Why would he _miss_ me? I could feel Link's arms around me...but he felt thin. If he bent anymore, his bones would crumble and he would collapse, or his body would lose it's ability to remain solid. He'd walk right through me and just dissipate into the air like a ghost. I hugged him back just as tightly, I didn't want him to drift away.

_I feel that right now you are asking a lot of questions. The answer is most likely yes. Now will we ever know exactly what happened to Link in the Shadow Temple? Possibly. Now...I'm thinking of posting all the deleted scenes of this fic into one large installment. I'd like a yes or no on that one. As always read and review...and I love you readers. Seriously. I really do._

_-East_


	7. One Year Later, Six Years Ago

_Hello! As you may have noticed, the updates are getting father and farther apart. That's because school is incredibly busy. Being a Theatre Major will do that to you. Still I will updates as regularly as I can. Because I love you all. Thank you for the lovely reviews. There are no real notes about this chapter aside from the occasional out-of-canon warning. Without further ado, read on, my friends._

One Year Later, Six years ago

As told by Sheik

Sheik

I will never forget the final battle.

Once Ganon exploded from the rubble. Link wasn't even thinking anymore. He was hell bent on destroying Ganon and paying back every bit of pain he caused. He'd all but discarded his other weapons and his shield. Link was armed with only the rage, adrenaline and the Master Sowrd. With every strike, I could see each misfortune everyone suffered flash before my eyes. Malon's rape, my burns, Zelda's sorrow, the death of Tzeros and all the sages...all of Hyrule's despair...all of the torture Ganon poured on all of us was felt with each blow to his massive, bloated body. Link took all their agony and made it his own. His rage ignited such fear in Zelda that she screamed. Once Ganon was down, I had to physically restrain Link. He was two sword swings away from cutting his head off.

He never says it out loud but he wishes I had let him

Zelda called to the sages and in a blinding flash of light, Ganon was sealed away. We couldn't kill him. He had to be wiped from history. If we killed him, we wouldn't have been able to go back. All we had to was place the Master Sword back into it's pedestal and everything would be restored and Goddesses will be done, the one wielding the sword would have no memory of what transpired. It would only be me and Zelda who'd ever know of all of the heroic things he did. We promised we'd write them down and one day if we ever saw him again, we'd let him read them.

I believe it was Navi who said "When you make plans, the goddesses laugh their asses off."

Link was gravely injured in the battle against Ganon and he collasped without the adrenaline to keep him fighting. It was three days before he even regained consciousness. Zelda kept a vigil by the bed determined to defy my requests for her to stay outside. It took me a whole day to realize that I was glad to have her by my side this time. Caring for him after the Shadow Temple had been...taxing. When he met me at the Spirit Temple, Link pleaded with me to never tell Zelda. Ever. All of us being together in this moment was a relief and even better with Malon there. With her assailant dead, she seemed much more at peace. She brought milk and bread. Everyone came to pay their respects to the hero bringing in gifts , wanting to speak with him. Celebrations took place all over the country. Zelda and I just smiled at each other. When Link awoke, these seven years would just be a passing nightmare.

Tired of being inside, I wandered outside to listen to the music. Malon was singing. It suddenly occurred to me that I missed her lovely voice. A few more days...and she'd be a little girl again back in the ranch with her father, who would be no longer crippled by a vengeful ranch hand. I wished Link could see this. After watching the Gerudo and the villagers against the sunset and around the roaring bonfire and playing my harp for them, I headed back inside. I may have been happy but I was still mentally and physically drained. I planned on going to bed.

"This is your fault." I heard Navi's voice. From where I was standing on the corner, I could see the fairy flashing red fluttering in Zelda's face. "He was such a sweet boy...you've ruined him!"

"Ruined him? I was only doing what was right for Hyrule." Zelda could barely defend herself. I don't know why...but I couldn't bring myself to interrupt just yet.

"You should've seen all the shit you dragged him through." Navi growled. "It's so easy to just send him out to clean up the mess you made. Look at Link! Look at Sheik's face! You did all of this. You're nothing but a little puppet for those heathen goddesses."

"Do NOT disown our creators!"

"Disown them? They've all but forsaken us and left us to die. Only after Link gets tortured and loses everyone he loves does Farore bestow her protection. She not only wanted to drag him through hell, blood and shadow but she wanted him to live to suffer with the remains. _You_ were safe, favored, protected. You will never understand the mess you made of his life!" Harsh words.

"Don't you think I know that?" Zelda shouted back. I could practically hear the tears pouring from her eyes. I still couldn't find it in myself to move or say something. I don't why...maybe...I can't stand to admit to myself that I...agreed...with Navi...

"Cry all you want princess." Navi replied. "It won't fix anything." For such a motherly apparition, the fairy was ruthless.

"It will. I'm going to fix it." Zelda's voice fumbled over her own crying. "When the Master Sword returns to the Temple of Time..."

"Do you really think that will fix everything?" Navi was more out to accuse than to question. "You just hope he won't remember anything. You don't just forget having to kill the only person you ever loved, you don't just forget losing your only friend, you don't forget Hell." Navi was right again. She was quite wise for something that wasn't even a foot tall. I felt like I might vomit with all the guilt weighing on me and she wasn't even talking to me. My mind drifted back to the Shadow Temple again. Finding him...like that...The weight of my own remorse forced me to sit down. Navi may have blamed Zelda, but I, too, carried much of that blame. I should've gone with him.

"He'll forget you too." Now it was Zelda's turn to be icy.

"I know." Navi replied. "Your Goddesses will probably banish me from Hyrule for defying them but I can't...I won't praise beings who only know cruelty. He asked me to never leave him. She could at least give him that." There was only a brief pause before the fairy spoke again. "I hate you and your Goddesses. I can only hope you can wake up and stop being their puppet."

It was all blasphemy.

Perhaps the reason Zelda and I were so sickened with it, was because we agreed with her. Whole-heartedly.

The transition back to children was difficult at best. While my aunt was alive again, she expressed constant concern over my constant obsession with the state of my face. I still have nightmares about being burned. She was baffled by Zelda and I waking up at all hours of the night calling her name, calling for Link. The world without Ganon was peaceful but our minds couldn't rest. The solace was watching everyone around us enjoy themselves and their daily lives. People that were in pain or dead seven years from now, would never know how they suffered. Unfortunately, they'd never know who saved them either.

It was a year before we saw Link again. He left the forest knowing he'd never belong there. He told us that he'd spent that year working at the Lon Lon Ranch. Malon said he visited a few times but never came to work or live there. It was Aldo, who no longer knew me, who claimed he saw a young boy in green on the island in the middle of the lake playing an ocarina. Gerudos claimed the same stuttering boy found every excuse to be around the compound asking for a boy who had no name. With Ganondorf gone, there were a lot more men around the Fortress. He asked me before he left that if Ganondorf had any children, would they also cease to exist. I told him that it was possible the Godesses could still allow them to exist but under different circumstance. But I think by that time, we'd all lost faith in our deities. Still, with Navi gone, it had be his only hope. The Cards whispered about a boy who searched the forest alone looking for his guardian. The Goddesses had banished her. He couldn't accept that she was gone.

It was Summer when the Gerudo had come to make peace with Zelda's Father. As a show of good faith, The king arranged an audience and Nabooru brought an entourage. Her mate, her sister, two priestesses and a sad young boy who she'd come to dote on occasionally. He claimed he knew the Princess. According to Nabooru, she "felt like she knew him" and "didn't like seeing him so lonely". She said he hardly ever spoke, ate just as little, played his ocarina like a man who played all his life, and had nightmares every night. We didn't attend the grand audience and neither did Nabooru's charge. He said good-bye to the woman who let him make the fortress his home for the month and thanked her with hug. He told her he had to go see a few friends, then he had to leave.

"I just hope he found who he was looking for." She told me.

Zelda and I were in the gardens alone that morning. I was playing my harp. I still wasn't used to having finger nails. Zelda was nursing her favorite tulips and occasionally stopped to sing along with me. When she stopped abruptly, it thought she chocked on something until I looked up. His appearance clicked for Zelda before it did me.

"Link!" She ran to hug him. I followed. I immediately noticed something was wrong when he didn't hug her back. Zelda pulled away. She was quiet now. "You aren't...happy to see us." She said it like she knew this day would come. However, Link shook his head.

"I a-a-a-am glad." He replied. He must not've spoken in days. "I won't...b-b-be able to stay." His voice though thin was solemn like an old man who knew he was dying. "I'm leaving."

"Leaving?"

"I wanted...t-t-t-to say g-g-good bye." He was resolute. Zelda and I started speaking all at once. There was no way we'd ever convince him to stay but that didn't mean we couldn't try. He merely held up a hand to silence us. Navi was right, it was effective. "I can't stay here." Now it was my turn to feel like this day was inevitable but Zelda wasn't having any of it.

"Why can't you?" She almost sound belligerent. The next moment was a little strange for me, Link wasn't much for words but he defied his nature in this time and he never stuttered even once.

"You can't tell me you don't feel it too." Link said calmly looking up at the sky and nearby servants. "This place...doesn't feel like home. It moves around you but you don't move with it." We never felt like that. We always knew this Hyrule without Ganon was home. "Without Navi...I don't even feel complete anymore. I feel alone. The only other time I've ever been in complete darkness was..." Link and I made eye contact and I turned away. Those screams still haunted my dreams. "I should've come to you both sooner."

"I knew this was going to happen..." I said before I could stop myself. Zelda and Link turned to me. Link smiled like he was relieved. Zelda was angry with me and she forced me to elaborate. "The cards...they told me you were searching." I said to Link. "I always wondered if you would decide to leave Hyruke and look for Navi after she was banished." Link's hand balled into a fist but he still smiled. He wasn't angry at me.

"Your cards? D-d-do you thi-i-ink you could give me a reading. For old times sake?" Still in the garden, we all sat down at one of the stone tables. I lit a stick of incense and concentrated on my cards.

"Ask your question." I said. Shadow Card readers are supposed to ask that but I could see in Link's eyes that he didn't have any questions, he just wanted answers. He didn't speak and I began to shuffle pouring my energy into the cards. I handed them to Link to shuffle and I let my eyes slide shut.

_Lost..._

_ Lost..._

_ Lost..._

The card whispered as Link shuffled through them. For just a second I got a taste of the emotions cracking Link's aura. He handed me the cards and I ended up having to wipe tears from my eyes. I laid the cards face down at first. The formation was symmetrical with a total of five cards, one in the middle with four cards surrounding it. I looked briefly up at Link before turning them each over.

The first was The Finder. This one needed no explanation. The next was The Mask. I gazed at Link's gentle smile. The cards never lied. That smile was a fake if I'd ever seen one. I wore around Zelda the first two years we were in hiding. Later I would find that the mask had more than one meaning. Friend was the third one. The end of the card pointed directly at me and Zelda who was directly behind me peeking over my shoulder. The Blood card made me frown. In spite of my better judgment, I lied.

"Injuries." I explained. "I see you have a few new scars." Link seemed to buy it. "You've been careless lately." That was putting it mildly. I just didn't want to say "Death Wish" in front of Zelda. She was upset enough already. The middle card caused Zelda and I to gasp. Rarely do Shadow Cards give blank answers but the card was completely black. No picture. No words. For a card reader of my mediocre caliber, a card like this is unheard of. Rumor has it, that many who received it, later ended up committing suicide. It was like a punch to the stomach when Link didn't seem surprised at all. Instead he smiled tiredly again and stood to his feet.

"Even the Great Raven doesn't know wh-wh-at to do wi-i-ith me." He said sounding remarkably calm. There was a long silence before he spoke again. He turned back to us hand outstretched. "Come with me." Once again he was missing that stutter I'd come to love so much.

"What?"

"Please."

"Link..." Zelda said walking sadly up to him. "We can't. I have duties to fulfill here in Hyrule." She spoke to him as if we were all fugitives hiding from the guards posted around the garden. "What if something should happen to my father?"

"It won't."

"You don't know that." Zelda replied a bit defensively. Tension between us rose.

"Yes I do."

"We can't just get up and walk away." I protested heatedly.

"It's not walking away. They don't need us anymore."

"They'll will one day. Link, you're the Hero of Ti-"

"Don't call me that!" A few guards turned their heads but saw no threat coming from three children. Zelda took a step back frightened at his angry tone. Even though she believed she incurred his wrath, I don't think Zelda would know what to do with herself if Link was actually mad at her. Link sighed. "I-I-I'm sorry. I didn't mean to y-yell." There was more silence. So thick you could cut it with a knife.

"We can't go with you." Zelda said quietly. Link sighed and shook his head at himself. He hung his head and smiled sadly. He might've cried if he had tears in his eyes.

"I know." He replied. "I just..."

"You don't have to say it." Zelda said. She lifted Link's head "We love you too." Now there were tears in his eyes. We shared a long group hug. Link was trying to remember us. Not just how we looked, but how our voices sounded, the scents we carried, all the way down to how we felt when he hugged us. Right then, I knew that he wasn't coming back for a long time.

"Maybe there's...a way we can go with you." I said pulling away from him reluctantly. Link was confused but Zelda knew exactly what I was talking about and she went to her small leather bag and dug out the Ocarina of Time. She always kept it with her like she was pouring her energy and magic into it.

"Take this." She said. Link tried to protest but Zelda grabbed his hands and placed them around the Ocarina. "Keep it. It's a piece of us. We spent such a short time together, but..." Words failed her a minute.

"We feel like we've known you forever." I said my voice cracked against my impending tears. I smiled in spite of it and glanced at Zelda.

"When Sheik plays the Song of Time, it reminds me of us." Zelda said already wiping away at her tears. "Can it...can it be our song then? So you won't forget us."

"I-I-I'll never forget ei-either of y-y-you." Another group hug and our time together began to draw to a close. We walked Link to the castle gate where Epona was waiting for him. I had a feeling we weren't the only tearful good-bye he had. I made a mental note to visit Malon when we had the chance.

"Be safe." Zelda said.

"We'll see you when you get home." Link mounted Epona and gave us a nod. None of us knew when he'd be back, not even Link. Somehow, we knew that he would be though.

"Don't w-wait up fo-or me." He said with a wave. He could say that all he wanted, but we would. We would find ourselves playing the Song of Time. We remained connected over the distorted fabric of time and I would later find out across dimensions. He was our best friend and brother. Maybe in a previous life, we were all related to each other, two brothers and one sister most likely fending ourselves only able to trust each other.

"You know Sheik..." Zelda and I watched Link disappear into the horizon. "I had another prophetic dream last night." She said enigmatically. I didn't reply for a moment unable to take my eyes from the spot Link vanished. "The dream was about Hyrule and it's future. A Dark, Evil King took over the land. Thanks to a Green Hero, the Evil King was was ripped from the very fabric of time. No one remembered the horrible things he did. He become nothing but a vaguely familiar name. Everything returned to the way it was. Hyrule lived in peace for hundreds of years and because of a boy dressed in green. Isn't that a good dream?" I found myself smiling at the though and turned back to her and wrapped an arm around her shoulder.

"It sounds wonderful."

It would be two years before we saw Link again.

_So? What dost thou think? Don't forget the whole read and review rigamarole, I love your reviews and it helps me write more. While I do have a plan for all of the chapters, I wonder if there are any other characters you guys would like to hear from. Let me know. Once again, thank you so much for reading. _

_-East_

_Next up: The Fierce Deity's Mask has a confession to make._


	8. The Weight of the World

_I think I posted this much faster than I'd intended but lately my life has had a lot of hurry up and wait. That's what tech weekend and stage shows will do to your life. I can really say much for the speed of my next chapter. This chapter mentions some pretty heavy things like torture and rape but merely mentions. So no graphic stuff. This chapter says the Fierce Deity was involved in the Ikana war and the four bosses of the temples...that is horribly non-canon but it's a dynamic I just had to play with. Don't be too mad. Anyway, my friends please read on. Warning: Bring tissues._

The Weight of the World

As told by The Fierce Deity Mask aka Oni

I am a mask, a shell of my former self.

They call me The Fierce Deity.

Per the usual, every time my name is mentioned even when referring to my mask, it strikes a chord of fear. There are rumors are about my power. I cannot fully debunk any of them. There is truth to every lie. I should know. I have told many of them.

When I met Majora, I was a rouge. I had no tribe. From childhood, my hands were dyed with the blood of my enemies and in a fight for survival, everything and everyone that threatens your safety is an enemy. When I told Link that, he merely frowned and said "how terrible". But looking into the sky like he was, I could could tell that he could relate. Though his fight for survival was a bit more...goal driven. When I stumbled into Ikana, I was bloody, injured and prepared to die. I could feel my soul slipping away from my body. I was just walking trying to get to some place where my body would not go unnoticed. I wandered into Ikana Graveyard. I did know what the place was at the time. My body gave out somewhere along the path. I gazed up at the sky with remorse, sighing wishing I had not died alone.

_"My, my, my...You've gotten yourself into quite the predicament, haven't you, stranger?"_ That was the voice of the woman who would save my life. A blurred figure of a dark skinned woman appeared into my view. This would become my Angel of Shadow. Link chuckled at that, but had I not seen the small smile on his face I would've thought he was crying. "_Odwala! Goht! Carry this poor bastard to my tent before we have to bury him with the Unknowns." Later, I'd_ to know her frank manner of speaking as a solace.

I loved Majora. To any normal man, she would have been of average looks and had too sharp of a tongue to be a suitable wife. To me, her wit was legendary and her beauty was unsurpassed. We would sit for hours just talking. Bystanders thought we were arguing but the exchange of witty banter was our foreplay. She was a wild cat. The sight of her cinnamon skin slick with sweat arching with pleasure in the moonlight belonged to me alone. After which, we'd lay together in bed exchanging typical nothings of a couple as "active" as we were. Her eyes were like fire and cut the darkness like knives.

We had great friends. We were a band of elite warriors. I was the only one who didn't wear a mask. Odwala was a warrior from a land we did not know, but he was in valuable and fast from someone with such a pear like figure. Goht was a large man stronger than an oxen...though considering how our companions turned out that analysis is highly inappropriate. Gyorg as you can imagine loved the water, and was the best swimmer out of all of us. The Twins were skinny things that always worked in tandem. They was the youngest of us and we were rather protective of them. That's why we always limited them to the home front. The day they were killed was the first time I saw Majora cry. Their spirits still linger in the Stone Tower Temple as Sand Worms. They were sealed into their War-Masks upon death. They all were. Odwala, Goht and Gyorg were killed and sealed into their masks in the temples where they met their end. Though Majora figured Gyorg went mad in the Great Bay Temple and he simply imploded on himself and his soul was so fragmented it just sloshed around in his mask.

Ikana was at war. It is widely believed that Ikana had a vast army. Once again just a rumor. However, the army was vast but because the agonizing decision Skull Keeta and King Ikana were forced to make. They instated a draft most of the soldiers we garnered were barely Link's age. When I told Link that, he looked sick. As we traveled across the empty expanses on horseback, I found that Link seemed to get sicker and sicker. He ate less. That's how it started with Majora.

The deaths of Odwala, Goht and the Twins already weighed heavily on our souls. This place had become my first home and it was coming apart. I'd been fighting all my life, I was numb to the destruction. Majora may have been a sharp woman but she was a stranger to such violence. When Keeta was struck down, Majora couldn't stand it any longer. She threw herself onto his large body and wept. While she wept, I could smell the Garo coming upon us. I could smell their blood lust. It was so akin to my own.

_"Majora, we need to go."_ I placed a hand on her shoulder and attempted to pull her away. We had to be quick. I told her we'd return and bury their bodies.

"N_o! No! Don't touch me!" _She screamed. She turned to Keeta still shaking him violently._ "Keeta! This isn't funny, you giant fool! Wake up this instant! You can't let Garo slime get the best of you!" _I'd never seen such fierce denial. Tears poured down her face. She sobbed through her tears, crying so hard her nose bled. She wouldn't pull away from him. She kicked and scratched at me in despair as I dragged her away from his bloody body. It was her sobbing screams that drew the Garo to us. I had been holding her so tightly, the Master Garo's blade went through us both.

Every time I look into Link's eyes, I know he understands. Torture does something to you. They don't just harm your body, they wear down your soul. Stripping it like paint from a mask. The interrogation is not something I'd like to revisit. They asked me about the Stone Tower Temple. I knew nothing. The pain grew so great, I just made things up. We all did. When they found out we were lying, they'd apply harsher tactics. Call us cowards and you will bend with just an minute of that agony. The only way I survived was the small hope that my love Majora was still alive. I lost track of how much time had passed until I saw her again. As it turns out, it was a band of mercenaries that killed the guards at the compound. They rebelled after not being paid enough. I was reunited with Majora but we were mere shells of our former selves. Still, I loved her.

She was changed. She wouldn't let me touch her, she'd scream at night. If I tried to comfort her, she'd scream at me. Link's nightmares are much like Majora's. Sometimes they manifest even when he's awake. I knew she'd been tortured but it wasn't until she miscarried one night that I knew what manner of torture she'd faced. I wished those men were alive so I could kill them one hundred times over. No, one hundred wouldn't be enough. Their souls should live on in Hell where they are subject to every pain imaginable and when I finally join them there, I will enjoy watching them burn to such extent that I will forget my own pain. My Majora, my dark angel, had her wings clipped. I still wanted to be with her, love her, make her feel whole again.

We never returned to Ikana. We became mercenaries, stationing ourselves in a small nameless village that centuries perhaps a millennium later became Clock Town. Masks were popular here too. The Garo left great holes in us. I replaced mine with the need to please Majora and see her smile again. I at least wanted her to hit me like she used to. Around this time, Majora began to fill her heart with hatred. As if to distance herself from everything. To her, everyone she didn't know was out to hurt her and everything she loved had been taken away from her. She left me standing on the other end of the glass banging relentlessly yelling for her. It was unbearable to watch her force herself into isolation. Never have I felt more powerless but I kept trying.

I made her a betrothal mask.

It was her favorite color. The spikes were an homage to our home. Our house in Ikana used to have a wind chime in from of the door. The chimes were sharp triangles. The black markings were the tattoos she had adorned her skin with. When I presented it to her, she finally opened to me and she kissed me. That night, she told me of her idea of a new world without war, without suffering. I thought it was simply an ideal but it would be years later when I found out she meant a world without humans. She began to take pleasure in the pain of others and laughed at their misfortunes. I was foolish. In my mind, I figured that as long as she smiled, she was fine. I have never been more wrong.

_"What it all this?" _She was wearing her mask and her sorceress robes, standing in the middle of black magic circles drawn all over the floor. She just lived to see others suffer until the Event Horizon consumed her. With our last battle, one of the slaves we freed was a female who had been through much of the same treatment she had. She ended up being beheaded by her master. My wife refused to speak afterwards.

_"Justice."_ She replied simply. _"Come look."_

_"Majora...this is..." _I looked at the markings. I was speechless. I had no idea she'd go this far.

_"Wonderful? I know."_ She said entralled with the darkness surrounding her. _"I will consume...I will consume everything." _She was too far gone. She went on to cause great destruction. The few who survived came to me to help.

"You don't h-h-have to tell thi-i-is part." Link said getting up from the bed. "I know what happens." He doesn't know, but I know everything about Tzeros. Link talks in his sleep now. He didn't want to hear me talk about killing the only person you have to love. After I killed her and the village wanted to desecrate her body, I flew into a rage and killed anyone in my path before I was forced into a mask myself. Link stayed with Anju and Kafei for a few months. He left of his own accord even though they begged him to stay. Kafei had reverted to his adult form by then. It took a few days though. They thought he'd never revert for a week or so.

As you can probably tell by now, Link kept me after defeating Majora in spite of everyone's misgivings. He wanted to make up for making me fight against my wife again. I tell him all the time that there is no debt but he insists. The need to constantly heap guilt on oneself is not healthy.

"Promise you'll be back to visit at least." Anju pleaded. Link told her he would. I didn't know him as well then, so I couldn't tell if he was lying. Ever the aloof big brother, Kafei hugged Link and they exchanged brief inside jokes before Link left for good. Anju and Kafei were still incredibly worried about him. Link talked in his sleep. After the moon, his nightmares, according to the fairy Tatl, intesified greatly. He began to see them with his waking eyes. He'd been know gaze at a simply object with out horror before realizing it was nothing and setting down. They shouldn't have let him leave.

I was worried myself. He was in pain. I could see in in his eyes. I could see much of myself in his eyes. Haunted, heart broken, alone...the eyes of a warrior should not belong on a child.

I was the only mask Link had left. After the moon was no longer a threat, he used the Elegy of Emptiness and the masks to bring the Zora, the Deku and the Goron back to life. They tried to thank him or give him something in return. Link just shook his head. He'd grown rather attached to all these men and couldn't quite say goodbye. He just promised he'd visit. He tried to employ this tactic with me but my mask had been made long before that song. He apologized, I had to insist on various occasions that it was alright.

He left Clock Town claiming to be looking for someone. Her name was Navi. She was a fairy who Link had nothing but highest praise for. His second objective was Tzeros, but there was little to no chance he even existed anymore. We led a fruitless search for almost a year I believe. We rode through a seemingly endless expanse of terrain and suddenly in a forest Link coaxed his mare to a stop.

He looked up at the sky covered by branches and leaves. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes slowly. Without saying anything, he got off the horse. He walked a ways, unsure of where to go. I haven't heard such a silence in centuries. The weight of it made me want to crack. He went to the nearest stump and sat down. The sigh that left him seemed to shake his whole body. Minutes seemed like hours as he stared up at the trees.

He'd given up.

Link took to wandering. I don't remember the names of the lands we traveled through. He couldn't escape the brand of hero. He went on short quests bringing people things that they needed, even going as far as to be a delivery boy. He might as well have been a mercenary. Then ne met a young woman named Mitra.

He stayed longer in this village than anyplace else. She treated him much like Anju. She was sweet, motherly and obsessed over how little Link ate. He was getting quite thin. Mitra was a sought after medicine woman who lived alone. Link protected her from violent patients and gathered herbs from dangerous parts of the woods. She called him her hero once. Link just smiled and calmly asked her to never call him that again.

Miss Mitra took a lot in stride. She was, after all, a Healer. She'd seen strange things before. She didn't seem to mind that I was a telepathic mask that occasionally transformed Link into a fighting demon. The three of us often had spirited conversations. She talked Link through his nightmares and flashbacks. I could even say he was recovering from the trauma that plagued his mind. I knew about Hyrule and Majora's efforts to destroy the world did not come without it's scars. For months, he was content. He and Mitra were as mother and child or sometimes brother and sister. It depended on the day.

Link is a good person. As old as I am, I do not understand why someone who was so pure and loving suffered so much misfortune.

Mitra was killed. She refused care to a band of assassins. They were more in need of a young woman to bring them off rather than medicine and they were not shy about saying so. They got violent the minute she asked them to leave. There were a lot of them. Link shouldn't blame himself for this defeat. He'd gone up against monsters before but not a hoard of _human_ monsters. He couldn't get to me in time and I couldn't move to help him. He was overpowered after putting up a valiant fight. He was injured and knocked unconscious. I feared they would take advantage of Mitra after Link had been injured. They did not. She made an attempt to grab me thinking that maybe if Link could transform, so could she. I suppose we'll never find out. They killed her and stole every cent and piece of food she had. I had to resign myself to being useless. I've had centuries to simply watch things happen and never be able to influence them. I couldn't get Link to keep from blaming himself though. He was the only person who seemed to care about her death. I suppose that she was only cared about when she was needed. Link could obviously relate. He buried her with her her most treasured possessions by himself and burned her house so no one could desecrate it.

There was so much weight on his mind, his shoulders began to sag.

It was another few months before Link came to stay with another. This time it was due to much different circumstances. A grave miscalculation led Link through a nearly endless plain with nearly no food or water. Epona frequently made a meal of the tall grass that surrounded us while Link could only resort to eating the occasional snake. His cheeks were sunken in and his eyes were hollow when he rode past a house that just seemed to be wading in the grass. Link wasn't about to impose on the man but as he continued to ride by, but weakness knocked him off of Epona.

Link's greatest fault is his trusting nature.

He trusted Orlo. The man nursed him back to health with the exchange of a few chores around his small farm. It seemed simple enough. Link ignored my warnings. Orlo was much larger than Link and he had this...look about him. I didn't like the way he looked at him or touched him. In Link's state of mind, he didn't see it. He saw only the good in him He didn't plan to stay long anyway. He was afraid of the same thing happening to Orlo as what happened to Mitra. So he kept the man at an arm's length. A week passed and Link was still weak from malnutrition. He couldn't leave even if he wanted to.

One day, Orlo called Link into the house. Epona, and Link's weapons were intentionally left outside. I was lying against a wall inside Link's makeshift bedroom. I didn't hear much but I caught enough to know what was happening.

"Doesn't make sense for a boy so mature to still be a virgin." Orlo's voice was dark and taunting. Lecherous Cur. This was the only moment I couldn't resign myself to letting things come to pass. I wished I could sprout from this mask on my own. I couldn't hear everything but the worst sound of all was the begging. Link was stubborn by nature always doing what needed to be done and in his own way. His will was indomitable but few can resist the pain of being...invaded...in such a vulgar fashion.

"Please...stop. I-I-I can't...Agh! It hurts! Please don't!" I wish it could say it made me sick but I don't have a stomach.

Four days passed in this way.

The the fifth day, the sun rose in silence. I heard footsteps on the hardwood floor echo down the hallway. It was like the sound of doom. The foot falls were heavy like the story of the man who carried the world to the sun. For a second, I feared Link was dead. Until he walked into the room with blood on his hands. I briefly examined him as he grabbed me. He was wearing clothes but blood was soaking through his sleeves and chest. He put on those clothes on after killing Orlo who's body I briefly saw laying in a hallway. He had been beaten with a pair of shackles that were too small to wrap around his throat. Link walked with a distinct limp. He packed his knapsack with as much food as he could carry, stole clothes and money. The antithesis of everything he believed in. It was just what the brigands who killed Mitra did. He even stole a few remotely valuable trinkets. The way he carried me, I couldn't see his face. I imagine it was an expression of determination. Link just wanted to get out of there but he couldn't leave unprepared. I've learned that Link's coping mechanism is simply locking away whatever emotion he had for another day. Link found it incredibly painful to sit on Epona's saddle so he simply walked alongside her.

"Link. I can ride for you." I said more gently than I had since Majora and I were married. With me, his wounds would be temporarily healed and his strength renewed.

"No. Oni." His voice sounded like it was so far away, lost to the wind as it slipped out of his throat. "You don't know the way home."

"Home?"

"I'm tired." Link replied devoid of any emotion. His stutter was completely gone all of the sudden. "I want to sleep in my own bed tonight." Orlo's house disappeared over the horizon.

"You have no idea how long it will take to get back to your Hyrule." I said firmly thinking he'd lost his mind.

"I know that, but I know the way, that's what matters." He spoke so cryptically. I could see flashes of Majora flash before me with every word his spoke. "Do you think Sheik and Zelda will be happy to see me?"

"I imagine so." I replied. "They are your brother and sister right?" Link chuckled mirthlessly.

"Something like that." That night, the nightmares stopped. Mostly due to the fact that Link no longer slept. We passed many villages. Link didn't accept kindness from strangers. He wouldn't touch anyone. He only stayed in inns. He didn't speak to anyone. He never entered a person's house even when invited. When he smiled, only his mouth would respond. His hair grew long, his eyes completely lost color. He seemed to eat just enough to keep himself alive. He was unaware of the passage of time stopping only when Epona needed to rest. He played his ocarina to pass the time. I wished I could cry listening to that music. I heard sorrow, pain, loss...and envy of the dead. With all the haphazard traveling, it's difficult to say how long it was before we arrived in a pink forest. The entire forest was filled with blooming cherry trees. A strange peace came over Link.

"I forgot... it's Spring." He called them The Lost Woods. They looked like endless trees to me but he navigated through them perfectly. We came to a large clearing with treetop houses and children playing some kind of ball game with a red-headed boy sitting off to the side watching them. Link had to leave Epona to go into the Kokiri Forest. He took me with him. I am still not too sure why. The children were too engrossed in their game, they didn't notice Link climb the ladder to a house that sat at the base of a small slope. He sat on the bed. He was too big to sleep on it.

"You...shouldn't be here..." Link knew this girl. Green hair, shorts...small but incredibly wise. This must've been Saria.

"I know." The little girl stepped closer in awe of how much he changed.

"You look so different..." She was face to face with him. "Your eyes have changed. They used to be blue." She took both of her hands and placed them on his face. "You still wear green though. I wish that meant you were still one of us."

"I never was." Link replied. Saria smiled.

"You were to me." She hugged him. She looked like a child hugging her big brother. Link tensed and bore it with his eyes screwed shut. "Thank you for at least saying good-bye that time." She said. "You know you'll always have a home here." She looked down at me and smiled. "Who is this?" She asked.

"My name is Oni. Pleased to meet you, Miss." I replied. She giggled. The three of us talked for hours. Children, even one as wise as she, should always be pure. That sounds like something Keeta would say. At nightfall, Link rose to leave.

"It was wonderful to see you again Saria." He said. "I missed you." Saria suddenly seemed wary and concerned. She stopped Link as he climbed down the ladder.

"You're not staying?" Link shook his head.

"No. As you said, I don't belong here." Saria conceded. It was a fact she could not argue with. "Good night, Saria. Sleep well. Someone like you deserves pleasant dreams." With no more words, he left. We rode though the night. Hyrule, it seemed had Stalchildren as well. However, at the sight of my mask, they saluted. Keeta's influence had spread far. Link didn't even draw his sword as Epona clopped away and Link took in the scenery. We reached a placed called the Lon Lon Ranch at sunrise and we were greeted by a girl in purple and white who praised Link for the excellent care he'd taken of Epona. When she went to hug him however, he shrank back. She took the message and asked him to sit down to a meal. After they ate, it was only the afternoon but just as he'd done with Saria, he simply said he had to leave. He left Epona with her original breeder.

"Malon, can you promise me something?"

"Anything."

"Promise me that you'll be safe. I don't want you to get hurt. You're like a sister to me." He said smiling that shallow, strange smile.

"Link..."

"Please? It would kill me to see you in pain." Wide-eyed and now concerned, Malon nodded.

"I promise." Link took me and his weapons and continued on foot to a place he called Hyrule Castle Town.

Link let out a sigh as we walked through town. That was the sigh that he let out when he gave up on Navi. It was like a tsunami breaking over him. I sensed that yet another great change had been made within him like he had finally made up his mind to do something. He presented the Ocarina of Time to the guard who greeted him fondly and let him pass the gate. I wished I could look up at him but I simply spoke to him. "Link. Is your journey over now that you're home?" I asked as Link gazed at the, dare I say, magnificent castle before us.

"Yes." he replied calmly. "I'm very tired."

_Let me know if you like it and I would still like to know if you want to hear from any other characters I may consider it just to go for an even ten. Also I am playing with the idea of a squeal involving y;know...good...things happening to poor Link. Let me know if you guys want a sequel. This is the third to last chapter of this fanfiction. I'm almost done. I love you guys. Please review._

_-East_

_Next up: Sheik and Zelda thought Link was in his room._


	9. Wall of Water

_Wow...I can't believe I'm almost done. I love this fanfiction so much I'm sad to leave it. Seriously, this fanfic has one more chapter after this. Just one. And it's not going to be that long. Gotta leave room for the sequel after all. The sequel should be released shortly after this one there are most likely going to be three chapters. _

_This chapter contains the apex of angst so once again if your sensitive tread with caution. Anyway. This is another Sheik chapter and it's kind of the conclusion of his story as well. I love Sheik as a character I don't care what anyone says, he has so much potential than just a disguise. _

_I'm preaching. On with the story._

The Wall of Water

As told by Sheik

I wish I could go back in time again and fix everything. But I can't. There are so many things I could've done to help him. I suppose there's always something we could've done. We don't have time at our disposal anymore. I finally understood what Zelda was talking about when she said how shocked she was about Link's appearance seeing him after seven years. It's like a punch in the stomach. I'd only ever seen Link as a child and as an adult. It was odd to see him in between...and...like _that_.

He'd gotten thin. That was the first thing I noticed. Even his hat seemed too big. His hair was too long for it. His clothes were his usual green tunic and breeches but they were made for a man much larger than him. He was covered in scars all over again. Some of them...I wasn't too sure were made in the heat of battle. I swear his eyes used to be blue. Instead they'd turned a murky gray like smoke. Bags hung from his eyes. His posture was submissive: head down, eyes on the floor. His hands shook when they weren't on his sword. It was like living to defend himself was the only thing he knew now. But the single most terrifying thing about him was his smiled...if you could even call it a smile.

For a minute, I thought his face had broken. There might as well have been cracks like the kind you see in sun-dried pottery but he was too pale to even resemble anything of clay. Zelda knows me too well and before I could say a word, she told Link how overjoyed she was to see him.

"I knew you'd come back." She said wiping her eyes. However, even Zelda couldn't simply ignore the fact that when she went to hug him, he stepped back. An image of the former Malon appeared in my mind. _No... "_What's wrong?" Zelda asked lowering her arms like wilted stems. Link just smiled weakly.

"Nothing...I...I'm sorry." He went to her awkwardly and embraced her like she was going to burn him. Zelda was a little confused at first. I had yet to even speak.

"Well come in to the library. We have a lot of catching up to do." Zelda was now trying a little too hard to remain cheerful. All Link and I could do was trade glances before Zelda called for tea and we sat in the library, one of Link's favorite rooms of the castle.

"Where have you been all this time?" I asked trying to keep everything from falling into an awkward silence. We were no longer children .Our contention couldn't be solved by a simple game of tag. Link looked down and for a moment I thought he wasn't going to answer.

"Mask collecting." Link replied simply. Zelda asked him to elaborate and Link handed us a mask. "His name is Oni." I made a mental note that Link's characteristic speech impediment had all but vanished. We took the mask and instantly felt a dark but benign energy emanating from it.

"I've heard much about both of you." The mask said. Zelda jumped but then realized her gaffe and then laughed a little airily. Yes, she was trying _way_ too hard. You could accuse me of being cynical if you want but Zelda was the one trained in diplomacy. I'm a bodyguard, not an actor. I couldn't act like I wasn't upset. What I was upset _at_ was unclear at the moment. Was I mad at Link for being gone? No, I foresaw that. Was I upset at the fact that he was gone so _long_? Maybe. Perhaps I was angry that Link had fallen into this degree of disrepair. It seemed like he didn't even care about getting back to us, like he was killing himself and just happened to make it home before he finally kicked it. The thought infuriated me. I simply watched Zelda and Link talk for an hour or so. I just didn't want to say anything or else I would find myself standing up and shouting at him.

"Princess Zelda, Sheik and...um...guest, Dinner is served." The maids couldn't even remember Link's name. After Zelda finished her conversation with the mask, she asked the servant to put the mask in Link's new room. She was hell-bent on carrying on a peaceful night. Link rose with difficulty and as we walked into the hall. I grabbed Link roughly by the shoulder but before I could confront him, he cracked that terrible, fake smile. What this the mask he was talking about? How many looks did he have like this? I had so many questions...and curiosity has never been my flaw.

"I'm sorry." Link said. He was smiling but his voice was sad, pleading for forgiveness. "I know I'm not making this easy for you. I hope you're not too angry."

"I can't say that I'm not." I said perhaps a bit too frankly.

"I can understand why you are though. I was gone for way too long." I was shocked. I'm not sure why I was though. Link was a humble enough person to admit he was wrong. Then I found it wasn't Link admitting a fault it was me realizing how guilty I felt for letting it get this far. He took my silence as sign to say more. "I really am..."

"Stop." I said waving a hand. He looked guiltily to the floor. "I should be apologizing to you." I'm not good at things like. I stepped a little closer to him and lay a hand on his regrettably thin shoulder. He was concerned. It just made me feel worse. "I've always wanted to go with you." I said. "Ever since you left for Death Mountain. I wanted to go with you." I bent my head. "At the Shadow Temple..."

"Sheik, don't..."

"I should have been there. I should've never let you go alone." I couldn't stop myself from pouring out my heart like this would be the last time I'd ever be able to tell just how much I wanted to follow him. "When we met in the Forest...I should've...I should've...Link there are so many things I could've done to make it better for you. I should've done more." I found my mantra. _I should have...I should have...I should have.. _.I was repeating myself frantically. "There's no reason for _you_ to apologize. If I could've..." Link held up a hand. It shut me up immediately.

"I was never angry at you." That voice sounded like it wasn't his. It was so calm, like someone had covered a churning sea with a metal blanket. He took my hand. "In fact, seeing you...was a comfort really. No matter what...she...said." Navi...he couldn't even bare to say her name. "It was nice to know that you were okay." Disturbingly placid yet sweet and understanding to the very end. I didn't know whether to be amazed or horrified. I squeezed his hand.

"Link, please." I begged. "Let me help you now. Your eyes...didn't they used to be blue? What turned them so...gray?" In hindsight, the loud chiming of the clock was mocking me but at the time I was completely clueless as to why Link's entire body tensed and he suddenly let go of my hand. He loathed that sound, I could see it. He turned away from me.

"I'm very...tired." He replied. I was a little confused about that reply. "I need to rest." With that, he followed Zelda's playfully impatient, beckoning voice into the casual dinning hall. A small nagging fear manifested in the corner of my mind. Filled with conflicting emotions, I strode into the room shortly after him.

The spread was generous but small considering the non-formal audience. The table was just large enough for the three of us. Link smiled again. I felt Zelda give an involuntary shiver. She'd noticed it too.

"Do you think he'll be alright?" She whispered as I sat down. Honestly, I couldn't answer that.

"Hard to tell. You might want to get rid of that clock though." I replied. It might have sounded like I was joking, but the clock was gone an hour later. We sat down to dinner and it was suddenly like old times. Even with Link's painfully enigmatic smile, the conversation was relaxing and comfortable. Link finally looked at ease. This moment was what he truly wanted. When he stopped eating one-third into the meal, Zelda gave him this _look_ that screamed "if you don't eat more I'm going to shove it down your throat". She reminded me of Aunt Impa for a minute there. Link slowly got to half the meal and Zelda stopped glaring at him. I couldn't help but chuckle a little. Link, Zelda and I were truly together again, smiling, laughing...this was the family we were meant to be.

It was well into the night when we retired to bed. Planning on living moments like these tomorrow and maybe we could convince Link to stay permanently. Link looked up at the moon through the window, smiling sadly.

"I'm very tired." He said sagging again like he was carrying this great, heavy weight. "I need to rest." He'd gone back to that placid, cold voice. He turned to me and Zelda. He opened his arms and gave us both a tight hug that poured love into our hearts. I was surprised he let us hug him after going to such lengths to have us do otherwise. "I love you both." He said. He stepped back and gazed at us for a long moment, drinking us in. "It was so good to see you both." He turned to leave. "Sleep well." That nagging feeling I had before was back tenfold. "Always." Zelda and I exchanged worried looks and we decided to talk to him about it tomorrow morning.

The thunderstorm and that constant gnawing feeling of warning wouldn't let me sleep. It must've been midnight before I decided to go check on Link. I could feel my mind pulsing telling me to hurry and I didn't know why. _Come to Link's room. Hurry_. I froze in mid-step. It was the voice on Link's mask. I broke into a run. I wasn't a medium for nothing. I practically threw open Link's door.

All I saw was the mask placed on the pillow.

"Thank The Raven, you heard me." The mask, Oni, said to me. I strode up to him and lifted him eye level.

"Where is he?" I asked.

"You will not like the answer." It was more of a statement than a warning. "There is a note on the nightstand there. It will tell you everything." He was so solemn...so full of remorse... I walked over to the nightstand and I traded him for the note. Link's handwriting was like his hair: messy and unkempt, but this note was uncharacteristically neat. It was like a stab to the stomach. One slip of paper spilled out good-byes and past tense tributes to people he loved so much. He'd come to peace with it. Despair stained the page like ink that would never come out. My eyes filled with tears. My hand flew to my mouth as if I were going to vomit. Fear, anger, sorrow...all of it hit me so hard, my knees buckled and I landed on the bed.

It was a suicide note.

_Why hadn't I known he'd go this far?_

"Where did he go?" I asked the mask.

"The one called Tzeros." Oni said. "Where did he die?" My blood could've stopped in my veins.

"Lake Hylia." There was a thick sulfurous pause before Oni spoke again.

"He must be hoping to join him there. You must go find him. Please." I swear I caught a hint of fear in Oni's tone. In his last letter to us, Link had only one favor to ask me: to try and return Oni to a human form. The mask cared for him. Thanking Oni quickly, I leapt to my feet and ran to Zelda's room.

We didn't use the warp songs anymore. We'd made a promise not to. Besides, I was only 17 now I wasn't supposed to know them yet according to Aunt Impa. While Ganondorf was taking over, I'd been taught those songs under special circumstances. Aunt Impa would ask questions the next day but consequences be damned, I grabbed my harp and Zelda.

At Lake Hylia, the rain had gotten worse. It was falling so hard it, stung our skin. I briefly wondered if the Goddesses were finally showing regret for what they did to Link.

"Link!" Zelda called into the pounding rain. He wasn't there. That didn't stop her from calling his name a second time.

"Maybe he's not..." I was cut of in mid-sentence as my eyes caught the Link's sword and shield planted in the ground as if to let us know that if we needed to find him, he'd be here. Upon closer examination, his hat was hanging from the hilt of the sword. Before the gut-wrenching feeling could set in, I heard Zelda shout. I turned just in time to see her rip her skirt and dive into the water. I could only watch or she would have to save us both.

Zelda must've been a Zora in a past life. If not for her ability to dive like that, Link would've died. He wanted to drown himself in the only place he'd ever felt safe or near it at the very least. He wanted his lungs to fill with water and explode under the pressure. He had the resolve to die slowly. I'm not exactly sure what he used to weigh himself down. But when Zelda resurfaced with him, he had a chain around his left wrist.

"He's not breathing!" Once again, leave it to Zelda to display the hysterics I was feeling. I knelt down, pressing Link's chest repeatedly until the water he allowed to fill him. Zelda was already crying.

"Please..." I muttered softly. "Don't leave us. Please." My reply was a cacophony of coughing and water coughed up into my face. Link rolled over and coughed the rest of the water out. He just stayed on his knees gasping and said nothing. I took his silence as a sign to help him up. Yet when I crossed to him and grabbed his arm, he pulled away from me. He glared at me, like I'd just betrayed him. I took a step back and he stared back out at the lake. I begged for him not to leave us...but maybe he already did. Zelda's small sobs had been stifled enough for her to find words.

"Link...why?" Link was nearly catatonic. Soulless even. I was suddenly afraid to hear the answer. Was it us? Did he lie to me? Was he really that angry? Link stood to his feet slowly walking back toward the water's edge. I reached for him as if I could stop him just by staying where I was.

"I'm so tired." Suddenly those three words meant so much more than a simple good night. I felt like those words could drag me into despair. Link never complained. After all he suffered, he never said a single word about it. All the screaming, the wounds and pain cost him but he never complained. It was always for the greater good. He spent his life sacrificing himself. Nothing in this world was just for him.

"But we're still here." Zelda offered hopefully.

"For how long?" Link countered still looking into the water. "I want to sleep." Slowly, he waded ankle deep into the water as if that was enough for us to let him sink but Zelda and I grabbed him. At first, he just stopped staring into the black, swirling water. "Let go."

"No." Zelda replied. "We won't watch you kill yourself."

"Then just go." Link replied. There was no venom in his words. "I don't want you to watch this either." He wrenched both of us off and stared up at the sky. He wasn't staring at the clouds, he was staring straight at the goddesses defying all the plans the had for him. Lightning coursed through the clouds. The wind picked up. They _were_ watching. As far as I could see, all the wind, and rain was focused on our little island. It was always Link. He was always the center, the one expected to fix everything single-handedly. But what did it get him? He had no home to go back to. Most of his friends had no memory of him. So much more had happened to him when he left. I could see it. I could taste it. Link's despair suddenly choked me. It wasn't just heartache, there was so much anger and frustration but what I felt most was the longing. The soul-crushing yearning to simply be complete, but all he could do was weather the storm.

"Tired..." Link mumured. "So tired...so tired..." His body, weak from previous air deprivation, went slack. I forgot I was still holding on him until he dropped to his knees. He shook uncontrollably as the thunder crowed over head. He'd bit his lip so hard that it bled profusely over his mouth. The stoic, soulless mask was starting to break. His body heaved with a the first of heavy sobs. "Why...?" I heard his heart break with one word. Another raw chocking cry shook his chest. "Why?" The thunder shook the ground below us. He turned his face to the sky. "What? What do you want?" He groaned with his hands over his ears. I looked back at Zelda when the thunder cried out again. She just stared up at the sky, terrified. Before I could do anything Link suddenly turned his head to the thundering sky.

"WHAT DO YOU WANT FROM ME!"

That scream to the heavens would make a stone die of a broken heart. He opened his arms to the sky asking the goddesses to strike him down where he knelt in the mud. "I can't do it anymore! Please just kill me! I _want_ to die! Finish me before I lose them too! Please!" He wasn't challenging them, he pleaded with them. Terror passed my gut when the sky lit up with lightning. I thought they would strike him where he knelt. He sure as hell wanted them to. He bent his head. "Just let it end...it want it all to end."

"You can't have him anymore!" Zelda suddenly shouted. "Scream and shout all you want!" She stared straight up at the sky fist clenched. "He's not yours!"

"Haven't you hurt him enough!" I cried into the sky spurred on by Zelda. Zelda wasn't crying anymore, but I was. I wasn't going to let Link down this time. I wasn't going to let him drown. The goddesses would not have their way this time. We didn't care if we were banished.

"I just want it to stop..."

"She was right! About all of you!"

"I despise myself..."

"He's done enough!"

"I'm so tired of being used."

"You're not goddesses!"

"Tzeros..."

"You're fiends!"

On all sides of us, the water gaze a violent churn and exploded up all around us. We were completely surrounded by a wall of water. With the the deafening roar of the water, Link let out a scream of anguish. For a moment, time stood still. The sound climbed to such a height, our ears could no longer comprehend it and everything went silent. It was the goddesses response to all of our defiance. I found myself wishing Navi was here to see this. She'd be proud of us. In seconds, the water-wall went from a angry threat, to a complacent grunt and then to sigh of defeat. Finally, there was an admission of guilt. Suddenly the sound returned to use and we heard, the soft hush of a waterfall as the water crashed over us cleansing the mud from our clothes. This is as good as as it'll ever get.

I don't think they'll ever apologize to us.

Just like that, the storm stopped. The stars were shining. Hell, there was even a full moon. All that was left was the mud our feet were mired in. Ironic. Link was still on his knees. Zelda and I exchanged glances and crossed over to him. When we laid our hands on him, he gave a start and he looked back up at us. We saw his true face, the face of the boy who'd been afraid to speak when he first met him.

"W-will the pain evvver st-t-top?" He asked reaching up to touch mine and Zelda's hands. His stutter was back. My heart swelled with relief. Zelda and I knelt down beside him. Zelda wrapped her arms around him and I laid a hand on his shoulder. "I...don't want t-t-to lose you too."

"You won't." Zelda said. "We'll always be right here. No matter what happens we'll always be with you. Her idealism was perfect for this moment. And for once I didn't have an ounce of skepticism to throw into it.

"Stay alive to spite them, Link." I said. "You'll be complete one day." He started to tremble again a first I thought he was cold. It wasn't until I saw Zelda wiping Link's tears that I realized he was crying. His recovery was going to be long one but tonight we could breathe a sigh of relief. There were going to be rough nights ahead.

"Ho, Ho, Ho! Din's Bones! Did you lads and lass see that...oh my..." I hadn't even seen Old Aldo cross the bridge. "Why don't you children come into my lab...we'll get you a bath and some dry clothes. You all look terrible." _I told you we'd meet again Aldo._ "You look familiar, boy." He said. "Have we met?"

"Probably." I replied lightly. Aldo looked down at Link who was still very much in tears.

"Can he stand?" I looked back over at Link who gazed back at me pleadingly. I smiled and giving a nod to Zelda, we both helped him stand to his feet. He stumbled at first but with both of us with him, he managed to walk forward. Thinking back, this was all horribly symbolic. The only thing that would make it even more cliche is a sunrise...

...but it was only two in the morning.

_So second to last chapter of this fanfiction. Tell me what you think of this one. I cried writing it. The never happens to me. Anyway I worked really hard on this one just so Sheik could get his point across. I want to thank everyone who's been so faithful to this fanfiction it means so much to me that you guys appreciate my work. Normally, when I thank someone for doing something special for me I cook for them but...just pretend. Anyway. I love you guys and please stick around for the last chapter._

_-East_

_Next: An understanding is reached._


	10. Someone Who Doesn't Talk Much

_So this is it, the last chapter. I hope you all love this story as much I do. I've never updated a story so fast or have even finished one for that matter but this one is more like a labor of love not to mention I first wrote it for a friend I met when I was admitted to the hospital. I love Zelda and it's been an integral part of my life. As a kid, you get creative with your games when you can't walk. Anyway, here's the last chapter. At the end I will include a song list for each chapter._

Someone Who Doesn't Talk Much

As told by Link

Link

Counting the years in my life is a difficult task. Especially because I really don't know how old I am. It's safe to say that Zelda is two years older than me. Possibly three. Sheik is a year or so older than me. I spent a year and a half as a child training with Impa and retrieving the Spiritual Stones. I spent seven years sleeping. I spent another year or maybe two in the seven temples. I spent exactly one year wandering around Hyrule. I spent about a year in a three day loop and the four following months staying with Kafei and Anju. Then I left to finish my search. I spent the rest of the year with Mitra. After that, I spent another year back to wandering. Somewhere in between those twelve months, I fell ill and imposed on a stranger for two weeks.

This brings me to about five years. Or six counting the three days in Termina. Six years worth of negative emotions. I'd locked them up little by little. I spent much of my life being a rag-doll of destiny. I couldn't afford to use them in any constructive way. They wanted their revenge and they got it in spades.

When I lay my life out like this, it looks so easy. Reliving it...that's an entirely different story. Honestly, it _hurts_. It will always hurt. Still, it's the scar tissue that makes it better. The pain lessens though some days the pain more palpable than others. Six years of impending severe depression made me physically ill when he arrived in Aldo's Research Lab. I came down with a fever. I was delirious. It nearly tore my body to pieces.

Oni was right. I talk in my sleep. Sheik and Zelda found out everything just by my talking through the nightmares. In hindsight, I'm glad. I don't think I would've told them anything face-to-face. Deep down, I don't want to spoil them or taint them with all of my bad energy especially Zelda. I'm surprised out of the three of us, she adjusted the best. Zelda is a nurturing soul. Her best quality is her ability to heal herself by healing others. If she weren't a princess I'd see her being a doctor or potion woman. I'm sure she has Sheikah blood somewhere in her bloodline. Still she makes an exceptional ruler, no matter how much she protests to the contrary. She considers herself weak for crying so much, really it's her way of coping and getting all the emotions out right then.

She doesn't believe me but it's the healthiest way to deal with all the dark, negative shit that plugs up our lives. The way I screamed made her cry. I can't help but feel guilty for exposing her to that. I know it's not healthy to blame myself for something I can't help but it just...happens. I don't want to be the reason she cries. The week I spent at Aldo's...Zelda swears my skin let off steam when I hit the ice bath. I wouldn't be surprised, my brain was on fire. My blood scalded the insides of my veins. My brain was so boiled I'd begun to hallucinate and speaking to my delusions. It's odd that I only remember one particular conversation. I was speaking to Majora, exactly the way Oni described her to me but in front of in front of the Moon's Tree.

"You...you're Majora..." She didn't reply she just nodded. Zelda claims that she had to called my name over and over but I never heard her. "Oni...Oni s-said you were...very beautiful...He...he was right." She seemed flattered.

"You are very ill." She stated. I'm not sure why she felt the need to state such an obvious fact. "Tell me, boy. How does Oni fare?"

"F-f-f-f..." I was shivering. It must've been another ice-bath. "Fine. Much...like you."She laughed bitterly at this point. There was no mirth in it. I couldn't tell if she was at peace now, or it she'd simply resigned herself like Oni. Given the chance, Oni would fight any war on any side until he dropped dead. Majora would probably wreak more havoc if she could.

"I suppose I am "fine", child." Majora replied. "I regret everything in my life before the war. Aside from that I'd say I'm in good spirits." Now it was my turn to laugh sarcastically, though it felt like I was choking. "You're laughing because you hate me." She said placing a hand on my shoulder. I tried to get away from her but she wouldn't let go. "You're just too nice to say otherwise."

"I-I...I-I-I...think I do...hate you, Majora." I shook my head. "N-not being able to forgive...is that..." I stared to cough, unable to finish my sentence at first. I looked down at my hand and found I'd coughed up blood. I didn't think anything of it. Zelda and Sheik must've lost their collective minds. "...is that the same...a-a-as hatred...?" Majora laughed again, this time at me. In fact, she nearly fell over she was laughing so hard leaving me _quite_ irritated. She suddenly sobered and hit me in the back of the head.

"No, you stupid boy." She snapped. "Not being able to forgive is something you can forget. Hatred is something that you'll let fester inside of you. You hate me. You'll never be able to forget me. You'll never forget Ganondorf. You'll never forget the pain. It'll never go away. It'll kill you before it's over. It'll kill you." Everything she said brought an inexplicable chill of horror over me. My head started to throb in pain. "Consume. Let it consume everything."

"No!" I shouted back trying to get at her but my hand seemed to go right through her. At that very moment, I felt someone behind me. Sheik must've been holding me up from behind. They'd sat me up in case I coughed up more blood. Yet in my hallucination, I felt large hands on me. I immediately knew it was Ganondorf.

"You could be a destroyer of worlds." His voice throbbed with the pain in my head. It was like he wasn't even talking, he was injecting his words into my brain no matter how much I resisted. The throes of self loathing came back tenfold as his thunderous whispering reminded me of...that farmer. "You despise yourself more than hate the world around you! Let your darkness eat you. It'll crush you!" Being invaded like that, having no control over what happens to you...it brings on a darkness that no one else should have to feel. If I had it my way, I would suffer for them. I'm good at that. I found myself clutching my head all the voices reduced me to a sobbing, sweaty, bloody wreak. Apparently, I had clawed the sides of my head so much, they had started to bleed.

"Make it stop...make it stop..." I found myself muttering. A dry towel touched my head and I found myself suddenly lucid and staring straight at Zelda. My mouth was dry, but I was drenched with sweat and shaking uncontrollably. "Zelda?" There was a collective sigh around the room.

"We thought you weren't going to come back to us that time." Sheik said with a hand over his chest like he was trying to keep his heart from jumping out. I must've had more than one delirious fit and believe me when I say it wasn't the last. But at that moment, my fever had broken and after a few hours, they saw fit to transport me back to the castle.

There was one fatal flaw in Sheik's prevention of my suicide. There was no way to get back to the castle. By edict of Rauru the Head Priest, the Temple of Time was closed to the public for extensive "purification", that included royalty. The journey back was hard on me and I collapsed once we got into the castle gates. The fevers returned bringing the hallucinations and nightmares along for the ride. Everything wrong with my mind was taking it's final toll on my body.

I can't stand the sound of clocks. It's a grating sound that just enjoys counting down the minutes of our lives until the minute we die. The only two reasons I would find myself in Clock Town again are Anju and Kafei but I could never spend an entire night there. Not with constant tick, tick, tick. It's slow almost like the sound of dragging a dead carcass off the road so no other carriages would run over it. But what drives it home, is the bells. Every hour. It's laughing at you telling you you're one hour closer to death. _72 hours...60 hours...48 hours...32 hours...24 hours...12 hours...then nothing_. The closest I ever came to utter defeat in Termina was 15 minutes. Fifteen minutes until the apocalypse. "That was way too close" Tatl said to me. That is a vast understatement.

The clock that Zelda had removed while we were eating had been moved back to its original place when we arrived. I'd only slept an hour before it went off. When it struck the hour, it _scraped_ at my ear drums, ripped them open. The pain blocked everything out but the constant tolling of the clock. My hands flew to my ears and I screamed. Every toll was agony. It took Sheik, Zelda and a guard to hold me down.

Needless to say, they got rid of the clock for good.

The fevers stopped after a few weeks but it took a long time for me to fully recover. I was sick for a fairly long period of time. Almost a year I think. There were good days and bad days. Some days I would feel well enough to even go into town or walk around the gardens. On the contrary there would be some days I was so weak I couldn't even get out of bed. During my recovery, I don't remember a time when I was alone. Sheik, Zelda and Malon always visited me.. Sometimes they were all together. Those were the best days. I don't think it was any coincidence that my best days followed those kinds of visits.

There were other nights though...when I would just...cry. It would always happen when dreamed of Tzeros. I had resigned myself to pine for him as long as I lived. He never left my thoughts since the day he rescued me from drowning. I find it so ironic that the relationships that mean the most to me were formed after a matter of days. With Tzeros, I felt an immediate pull towards him. Being with him, was the only time I've ever felt truly safe, accepted and loved. It's not that I love him more than Sheik, Zelda and my other friends...but I love him differently. But he was gone and I just couldn't bring myself to make peace with it. In my worst moments, I thought of going on another search, but I was tired of traveling and questing.

It was time I chose a home.

Kokiri Forest, while full of fond memories was never home. I don't think I could ever live in Kakariko. I haven't set foot in the graveyard since...let's just say you never forget the sound of purposefully blunted knives sawing into your skin. I could never live in the wake of the Shadow Temple. Then there's Gerudo Fortress. I've grown to fall in love with that place. Really, the Gerudo are just misunderstood, demonized by the stories of old and unable to overcome their bad reputation like the Sheikah because of their isolation. The open air...the freedom...people speak so ill of the desert when it really is a wonderful place with wonderful people. Unfortunately, so is the castle. Zelda and Sheik are my family. I'm not sure if I can take anymore separation anxiety. I don't cope well with it.

In moments like these, I'm reminded why I'm so lucky to have Zelda as a friend however emotional she tends to be.

"Link!" With my new job as the Library's Curator, I was in the middle of yet another book when she flew in like a lark in spring smiling. She'd only ever chirped like this when she received good news or outscored me in archery. My aim may be on par, but Zelda _never_ misses. At the time Sheik was in Kakariko, yet again. He seemed to be visiting Farik very frequently. "The Gerudo and my father have finally aligned the free trade agreement." Perturbed, I stared at her blankly for a moment and went back to my book. She promptly hit me with the scroll she was carrying. "This means we need an ambassador to...ensure maximum correspondence." I glanced up, now I was interested. "You've been stuck here long enough. Since you have such good relations with the Gerudo, I recommended you for the job and you'd better take it, father is starting to wonder why I keep you around here." She said with a playful wink. It's no secret her father thinks I'll only ever be a librarian who talks to a mask. Before I could thank her, she hit me again. "That's for giving me that "So what" look, you idiot." She grinned and I hugged her.

"Thank you." That's pretty much the only thing I can say without worrying about stuttering. Well, that and "sorry". Nowadays, I really only stutter when I'm upset or worse, embarrassed.

I barely needed a day to prepare for the trip. It was about a two day's ride from the castle. Three or Four from Lon Lon Ranch which I had to make the trip there. All the horses that the castle has use for are bred there. Not to mention Malon won't let anyone but me ride Epona. Many have tried and failed with broken bones or head injuries. I'm not the best horseman...I think it's because I was with Epona since she was a filly. If you're not her friend, she hates you.

I set out by myself from the Ranch with Malon calling behind me, telling me that if I felt even a little bit sick that I should come right back. I didn't say anything back I just waved. The women in my life tend to throw things or hit me if I say something bad. Even though it means they care, it still hurts.

I walked straight into the sunrise that morning. The air was clean and I could finally feel the wind on my face without someone begging me to get out of the elements before I caught a fever again. I took in a deep breath and let it sink into my blood and into my head. I let it out and found that I felt better. I hadn't just recovered, I was better. The darkness never really goes away but I have the strength to live past it. Not to mention I'm no longer alone being flung from one harrowing journey to the next and I have a lot of help. I went on those journeys to protect people I love from danger and to defend people who couldn't defend themselves. Shouldn't we all want to do the same? I'm not a hero and I hate being called that. Really, I'm just a person who doesn't talk much and tends to go out of his way to help people.

As I arrived in Gerudo Valley, I felt something strange. I wasn't sure what it was at that time, but it made me smile as I drew closer. I had no idea what was waiting for me, but I knew things were going to change...

...and this time for the better.

_This is not the end. I love you all for reading you've all been so faithful and so great to me. The sequel will be coming soon. I will give you one tiny hint: Prepare for a "wtf" moment. It may mess with your head a little a first, but believe me you're going to like it, even though it sounds a little selfish of me to say that. Anyway, here's the Song list for the chapters._

_One- Gobbledigook by Sigur Ros_

_Two- Butterfly by Corine Bailey Rae_

_Three- In the Deep by Bird York_

_Four- Gabriel by Lamb_

_Five- Closer by Kings of Leon_

_Six- Turn off the light by Nelly Furtado_

_Seven- How it Ends by DeVotchka_

_Eight- Scar Tissue by Red Hot Chili Peppers_

_Nine- We'll be Found by Sia_

_Ten- Saeglopur by Sigur Ros_

_I hope that brings a little clarification on the inspiration for some of these chapters. I love you all and I'll be sure to tell you when the sequel is up! Thank you so much for reading!_

_-East_


	11. ALERT!

The Sequel is now up!

The End of the Tunnel

Summary: Link arrives in Gerudo Fortress to finalize the new trade agreement. With some meddling from Nabooru, he ends up causing quite a stir at dinner.

Can't wait to see you readers again! I love you guys!


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